Dark Prophecy
by Marlex
Summary: An ancient prophecy tells of a time when a forgotten evil will return to the world. Little do Ash and Misty know that they are about to drawn into a web of terror and deceit. Who can they trust when the world is coming to an end? (Complete.)
1. Chapter 1

_Every society throughout history has had its own set of legends. Some tell of monsters and the heroes who vanquished them. Others tell of great wars and epic battles. Still others tell of times of great prosperity or eras of perpetual darkness. Told to soldiers to ready them for battle or in taverns by passing bards, they served as links to a past greater than the present._

There are some legends, however, that instead tell of things yet to occur. They are called Prophecies. The future, unlike the past, is not concrete. There is no set course, but prophecies can guide one toward a brighter path or warn one from a darker choice.

_As time has progressed, however, the legends have been forgotten. Now they are but fairy tales told to children before they lay down to sleep. No one sees the truth hidden behind them. So too are the prophecies, written down eons before history itself was recorded, being lost to that same history.__Now, however, the legends confront us once more. First Mew, then Lugia, the Unown, and Celebi; all legends returning in fact. As we consider what this means, we must accept that, as the legends are being reborn, the prophecies may hold us in their power as well. For they are messages from the past, to the present, warning of the future. We must heed these warnings, for time gives no second chances. That is why I must do what I am about to do. I only hope history will allow me some forgiveness. I only hope I am deserving of it in the end._

_                                                                        -excerpt, diary of Samuel Oak_

**_Dark Prophecy_**

_A master will be born,_

_The youngest to wear the crown._

_Upon the coronation,_

_The redeyes will be awakened_

_To reclaim the world it lost._

_It will take the master,_

_And its reign will begin anew._

_The sky will rain upon the world,_

_And human and pokémon alike will fall._

_Forests will burn,_

_Seas will boil,_

_And the world will end._

_However, amidst the horrors,_

_A flower of water will bloom,_

_Wielding the thorn_

_That will extinguish the Redeyes,_

_And free the world from its fate._

_-- unknown_

            Dr. Eve Simpson wiped sweat and dust from her eyes. She had been down in this chamber for hours. Both her mind and her body were begging for rest, but she couldn't stop now. The 24-year-old archeologist sighed. Her arms felt like jelly after so many hours hunched over this artifact or another.

She'd been working here at Pokemopolis for five years and there were still new things to discover. What had started as a single temple had grown into a city of enormous proportions. Eve was beginning to wonder, even with her diligence, if the site was just too large to examine in one lifetime. The city looked to have been carved into the raw stone of the mountain, but an ancient battle between two enormous pokémon had sent it, and the mountain itself, sinking over two hundred feet downward where Eve and some traveling pokémon trainers had found it millennia later. Now this city incased in stone was slowly revealing its secrets to her.

            Then yesterday everything had changed, becoming even more interesting. A worker had fallen through the floor in one of the lower regions of the ancient underground city. What he found down there… Eve still wasn't sure if she believed it herself. She had sent the entire workforce home for the day. She wanted to examine this alone. Her colleagues at the institute had scoffed at her when she had first reported to them that she has found the lost city of Pokemopolis. What would they say if she told them that she had found something older… much older. 

            Eve wasn't sure how they would react, but that didn't bother her. All she knew was she had spent the last seven hours in this small chamber trying to figure out what exactly she had come across. The room she was in was roughly fifteen feet square. Clay pots and shards littered the stonework floor. Field carbon dating tests were giving figures around 50,000 years old, almost twenty thousand years older than Pokemopolis itself. Intricately painted murals covered the two sidewalls, depicting an ancient people with trained pokémon at their side. If this room was as old as the tests indicated, this could be the oldest evidence of trained pokémon in the world. In one wall there was a passageway, which after twenty feet or so was caved in tightly.

            The thing that interested her at the moment, however, was the door in front of her. As far as she could tell it was made of a solid slab of stone. There were markings on it in a language Eve didn't recognize. Most important, however, was that the door itself looked undamaged. Whatever was on the other side probably had not been seen by human eyes in almost 50 millennia. She knew she should wait, but Eve didn't know how long she would be able to contain her curiosity. That was the biggest problem with being an archeologist. It was always a struggle to wait. If she had known there was so much—

            "Hi."

            The voice broke Eve from her thoughts and sent her jumping into the air. She spun around quickly, eyeing the young pink-haired girl in front of her. "You scared the shit out of me! Don't ever do that again, Joy!"

            Her assistant shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry I just—" She trailed off.

            Assuming Joy has been properly chastised, she let her expression soften. Joy, truth be told, had been a godsend over the last several months. Fresh from the institute, she had been filled with eagerness and zeal. Not many young people like her enjoyed long term field study, but Joy didn't mind, and actually enjoyed it. She had confided to Eve one night that she was just happy to away from her family, who looked upon her as a failure for not following the family tradition of nursing. Eve had to smile. How one went from nursing to archeology, she would never know. She was just glad to have such a capable assistant. In fact, she was the only person Eve had kept on the site after the initial discovery of the chamber. She was the only one she trusted.

            "What did you find out?" Eve asked finally.

            "It seems as if it could be a strange dialect of what was used in the time of Pokemopolis, but there are many irregularities to it."

            "Is there any record of this anywhere else?"

            "Not that I could find in the institute's computers. As best I could make out at the moment, it seems to be some kind of warning against opening the door."

            "Sounds about right. Typical mumbo jumbo."

            "You ever wonder if any of it is real?"

" Legends? Ancient pokémon and lost civilizations, sure. But, curses are where I draw the line."

            Joy couldn't come up with a response.

            "So, are you ready?"

            "For what?"

            "To open the door, silly."

            "Don't you think we should wait for authorization from the institute?"

            "You don't become a world famous archeologist by waiting for the bureaucrats to get off their butts and sign a release."

            "I don't know," Joy responded nervously.

            "Oh, its not the curse that's got you scared, is it? Believe me, if curses were real, I would be dead ten times over by now."

            "It's not—" she said trailing off. "Ok, let's go."

            "That's my girl." Eve pulled a pokeball from her belt. "Go Ivysaur."

            "Saur!" the pokémon grunted as it materialized on the stone floor.

            "Help us with this door."

            "Saur… saur!" The behemoth pokémon waddled up to the large stone slab and latch onto it with its vine whips. "Ivy-saur!" it yelled as it strained with all its strength. Nothing happened at first, but then the door began to slowly open in towards them. Soon the opening was large enough for Eve to slip through and she called for Ivysaur to stop. The Pokémon nearly collapsed in exhaustion. Eve gratefully returned it to its ball. She motioned for Joy to follow her and squeezed into the chamber beyond. Their two flashlights cut through the inky darkness and what they revealed shocked both women into silence.

The room was circular with its walls roughly hewn from the solid bedrock. The floor was smoothed over and covered in fine sand. Resting in the center of the room, however, was a mammoth statue. The figure, perfectly black and seemingly made from a solid piece of onyx, had no discernable shape. It was almost as if it defied any attempt at definition. What truly haunted Eve though, were the eyes, which consisted of two enormous red rubies.

* * * * *

The crowd was deafening. Thousands upon thousands of spectators filled the sold-out arena. People were milling about trying to find their seats with ushers racing around to help them. Snack and souvenir vendors called out advertising their wares as they trolled the aisles for customers. The Master's Tournament was only held once very five years, and only the best could enter, with only those who had won a league tournament eligible to apply. This year there had been twenty-two entrants. Now only two remained.

The noise was so loud that Ash could hear it even in the locker room. He couldn't believe it. After all these years, this was it. In a matter of minutes, he would be competing in the most important battle of his life. The last six years didn't matter anymore, only today. He made some last minute checks and closed the locker door.

"Pika," Pikachu announced.

Ash turned around. Misty stood before him in all her beauty.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Ash's breath stuck in his throat, as it did most times when he saw her. Six months before, the two of them had finally admitted to each other that their feelings were more than friendship. It had been the happiest day of Ash's life when he had found that she returned his feelings. They had been dating since, as often as their busy schedules allowed. Truth be told, they didn't really know what to do. Neither of them had had any true romantic relationships before, and Brock wasn't the best one to ask With Ash preparing for the tournament and Misty taking over more responsibilities at the Cerulean City Gym, there wasn't enough time. _Today that would change, one way or the other, he thought. "Just about," he finally replied out loud._

            "And just what are you thinking about?" Misty asked.

            "What do you think?" he replied. "The tournament."

            "That all?" she asked suspiciously.

            "Maybe. Maybe not. Ask me again tonight," he said with a wry smile on his face.

            "Ash Ketchum, you dog! I'm just going to have to take you up on that."

            "I'll be counting on it."

            "Just do me a favor, ok?" she asked.

            "Anything."

            "Kick Gary's ass."

            "How could I refuse a request like that?" he asked, a grin forming on his face.

            "I'll see you afterwards." She hugged him. "Good luck."

"Thanks for everything. I mean it. You've been with me from the beginning. I know I wasn't always the easiest person to get along with."

"You just go out there and win. I have to go get my seat. Don't forget about tonight."

"I won't. I'll be looking for you."

            She left, Ash watching her until she turned a corner and disappeared. He walked down a separate corridor leading to the competitor's entrance. There a league official met him. 

"Wait here until you hear your name called. Then walk out, wave to the crowd, and make your way to your box."

Ash could only nod. His nerves were starting to take over. If there wasn't enough pressure as it was, his opponent had to be Gary Oak. Ash hadn't seen him in two years, but what had started as a childhood rivalry had only gotten worse as it turned out they would be battling each other this one last time.

He could hear the roar of the crowd echoing through the door in front of him. He had read that the arena could hold fifty thousand people, but from the sound it seemed that there were even more. After a few moments, the announcer's voice blared over the din.

"Welcome to the final match of this year's Master's Tournament. The match will consist of a six on six pokémon battle. The first trainer to faint all six of his opponent's pokémon will be the winner and will be crowned Pokémon Master." The crowd thundered even louder. "And now, our competitors. First, in the red box, he comes to us from Pallet Town, at the age of 16, Ash Ketchum."

Once more the crowd roared. Ash couldn't believe it; all those people cheering for him? He just stood there trying to comprehend it all before the official nudged him forward. Slowly he stepped through the doors. The light blinded him briefly and he shielded his eyes with his hand. Pikachu meekly followed at his heels. Ash glanced up at the crowd. So many people; it made him dizzy. He quickly looked down and concentrated on making his way to his box. The roar of the crowd seemed to be trying to crush him into the ground. He released a sigh of relief when he finally made it to his designated area. How could the match be any harder than that?

The announcer continued. "Ash won the Orange League three years ago, and followed it up with a win at the Johto Tournament the next year." The announcer paused until the cheering subsided. "And his opponent, at the age of 16, also originating from the town of Pallet, Gary Oak." The crowd roared as Ash watched Gary. The noise seemed to have the same effect on Gary as it had on Ash. Even so, he still wore that same arrogant smile he always had. "Gary won last year's Indigo Tournament, becoming the youngest trainer to do so." Gary stepped into his box and stared at Ash. Ash met his gaze, trying to hide his fear.

After a few moments, Ash risked a glance to his right. He saw his mother and she waved. Next to her were Misty and Brock. They had been his friends since the beginning of his journey, always behind him, urging him on. There was no doubt in Ash's mind that if it hadn't been for those two, he would have never made it here.

Ash was broken from his thoughts when another door opened to the arena. An old man appeared in the doorway and made his way to center of the arena. Ash recognized him as the president of the Pokémon League, Mr. Goodshell. He began a long-winded speech about the history of Pokémon that Ash only half listened to. He almost expected Gary to shout out for him to stop, but his opponent only stood quietly waiting. Ash spent the time going over his strategies one more time before the match started. Finally the speech ended and the president started to leave. As he reached the door he turned. "Competitors, are you ready?" Gary nodded sharply and Ash tried to follow his lead. "Then may the best trainer win. Good luck. You will begin at the signal." At that, Mr. Goodshell left through the doors he had entered from, which closed behind him. High above them, lost amidst the sea of humanity, a large gong was hit, the sound echoing around the stadium.

Gary wasted no time. "Go Venusaur!" The pokémon materialized in front of him, ready to fight.

Ash was ready. "Go Charizard!"

* * * * *

            Eve was exhausted, but she didn't even think about sleep. She and Joy had spent the last hour setting up workmen's lights around the room. For the first time, she stood back and took stock of the room. The circular walls arched upward until they met as a sharp point directly above the black statue and its base. Eve walked around the monument once more gazing intently at it. The best way she could describe its shape was as a specter. In all her years as an archeologist she has never seen anything like it nor had she read of anything similar.

            "What do you suppose it is?" Joy asked.

            "I don't know."

            Joy knelt down at its base and brushed away a layer of sand. "Look at this. It looks like the same writing as on the door." The young woman stood up and brushed off her pants. "Why is this down here? I mean, we're over two hundred feet underground."

            "We're about at the level of the original base of this mountain. From the looks of the walls in here and the antechamber, they were both an extension of an already existing cavern which could have led outside. Thousands of years later settlers began what would be become the city of Pokemopolis. During the great cataclysm that destroyed the city all of the land in the area sunk hundreds of feet."

            "Even seeing the ruins, it's hard to imagine such a disaster."

            "Yeah."

            "It still doesn't help us tell what this thing is."

            "No it doesn't. Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. What I don't understand is that there is no sign of damage in the walls. You would expect to see at least some stress fractures after such a great shift." Eve paced around the room again, attempting to find anything she may have missed.

            "Maybe we should call it a day," Joy suggested. "You've been down here since the crack of dawn. We can contact the institute and see if they have anything."

            "Somehow I doubt anyone knows anything that could help. Still, even I have a point where I have to stop." Eve glanced once more at the monstrosity. Six feet wide, two feet thick, standing over seven feet, and solid black except for its eyes, it seemed to beckon her to continue. Eve slipped off a glove and brushed her hand over its shiny surface. The smoothness surprised her. Usually over the years statues, even of the greatest quality, lost the fight with age. This one felt as it had just been polished. "Oww!"

            "What's wrong?" Joy asked as Eve jerked her hand back.

            "Something cut my hand." She stuck her finger in mouth to clean off the blood. "Damn that hurt." She looked down at her hand, but her finger was already red.

            "It looks deep. Let me get my medical kit."

            "My little nurse comes to the rescue," Eve said tauntingly.

            "Don't start or I'll just leave you here to bleed to death."

            "That wouldn't be very ethical, now would it?"

            "I'm an archeologist, not a doctor," Joy relied wryly.

            "Touché."

            "Now let me see it." Joy began to wrap her finger in gauze and finished it off with some tape. "What did you cut yourself on?"

            "I don't know."

            Eve looked back over the area she had touched. She couldn't see anything that could have cut her finger so badly. In fact, the entire statue was perfectly smooth.

            Suddenly Eve's vision began to waver. She shook her head in attempt to clear her mind. It wasn't until she heard Joy scream that she realized that it wasn't her vision that was swimming but rather the statue itself. Its shapeless form, which a moment before had been solid stone, was now undulating like the surface of a stormy sea.

            "What's happening?" Joy screamed.

            "I don't know, but let's get the hell out of here." Eve turned and ran, but only made three steps toward the door before the floor rocked sending her crashing. Pain shot through her arm as she landed on it awkwardly. Joy landed beside her, unable to keep her footing on the trembling stonework. The statue's convulsions grew stronger as it thrashed about like a stricken animal amidst its death throes. For several moments Eve was frozen in fear and could do nothing but clutch her arm and glance around helplessly. Soon the convulsions subsided, but the "thing" began to change in another way. To Eve, it seemed to become less… there. It was as if it was fading from reality altogether, now appearing to be a fine black mist. It was constantly shifting, but seemed to be a semi-cohesive form. The fact that it was black seemed to come less from color but from the lack of light, as if it devoured any light it encountered. The only color it had emanated from its eyes, which shone with a sickening red. The entire roomed seemed to be bathed in the horrific hue.

            Despite the fear and the pain Eve felt, the academic side of her brain still wondered what this was in front of her. _Is this thing a new type of pokémon, never before seen, she asked herself, _or something___ else? Whatever it was, Eve was sure she had never seen nor read of anything like it._

            As the being gazed at Eve and her assistant with a predatory glare, Eve began to wonder if the reason no one had ever heard of this before was that no one who had encountered it had lived to tell the tale. For the first time in her life, she believed in a curse.

* * * * *

            Ash cringed as he watched Charazard fall to the stadium floor after being hit with the full force of Gary's Gyrados' dragonrage. Ash almost jumped over the edge of his trainer's box but he saw that Charizard's tail flame was still burning, although noticeably weaker. Ash quickly returned Charizard and the announcer blared, "The red trainer's pokémon has been eliminated." The overhead display chimed and Ash watched the first of his six bars blink out. Gary didn't seem as happy as Ash might have expected, but that might have been because Gary's side of the display was already missing three bars. Charizard had made relatively quick work of Gary's Venusaur, Alakazam, and Umbreon, but Gyrados had been too much. Now Ash had to choose his second pokémon.

            As he thought about it, he glanced to his right, where Misty, Brock, and his mother sat.

            "Go Ash!" Brock shouted, his voice barely audible over the noise of the crowd.

            "Yeah! Kick his ass!" Misty followed, turning sheepishly to his mother, but she either had not heard or was too excited to reprimand Misty at the moment.

            Ash turned back to Gary, a smile still planted on his face.

            "Gonna wait all day, Ash?" Gary taunted from across the stadium.

            "Just letting you savor the moment." With that said, Ash threw his next pokéball. The ball opened in midair and red energy shot forth. "Go Kingler!" His long time pokémon gave him a quick salute and readied for battle.

            "Bubble attack!" Large bubbles shot from Kingler's mouth streaming towards Gyrados.

            "Hydropump!" Gary shouted at his pokémon. The large jet of water broke through the bubbles and hit Kingler, knocking him back several feet.

            "Let's see how he likes it, hydropump!" This time the attack hit its target, but did little to slow down Gyrados.

            "Let's finish this oversized crab!" Gary shouted. "Bite attack, now!" Before Ash could shout a warning, Gyrados seized Kingler in its vise-like jaws.

Ash gasped as he watched his pokémon being slowly crushed. "Kingler, return!" Ash called, having no other choice. Kingler disappeared once more into red energy and Gyrados' teeth slammed together with a loud snap.

Ash didn't look up, but heard the display chime once more. He knew he was down to four pokémon now, but he still had the lead. He didn't waste any time releasing his third pokémon. "Go Butterfree!" Butterfree was incredibly weak compared to Gyrados, but it had the advantage of flight, which Ash planned to use. Ash glanced over at Gary once more and caught him with a smug grin. Hoping to catch him off guard, Ash quickly ordered Butterfree to attack. "Sleep powder!" _If I can get Gyrados to fall asleep, _he said to himself. Unfortunately, Gary anticipated the move and had Gyrados send a large jet of water, dispelling the powder harmlessly. Butterfree dodged an attack and then another. For several minutes Butterfree zipped around overhead, missing the water blasts aimed at it, but was unable to successfully return any attacks. Then, wearing down, Butterfree was hit by a solarbeam from Gyrados. The pokémon fell to the ground and could not get back into the air.

"The red trainer's pokémon cannot continue." Grim-faced, Ash returned Butterfree to its ball. Now Ash and Gary were tied. What was worse, though, was that Ash wasn't sure what to do next. He was down to three Pokémon, and he didn't know if any of them would be able to take on Gyrados. If he could help it, he wanted to save Pikachu until the end, knowing that Gary was doing the same with his prized Arcanine.

* * * * *

            "Ash releases his fourth pokémon in the match. It's a Bulbasaur! Another interesting choice by the young trainer, but will it be enough to overcome the behemoth pokémon's brute strength?"

            Professor Samuel Oak sat silently as he listened to the vid-screen announcer give the play by play of the Master's match. He listened, but he didn't watch. Instead he just looked down at the table. Although he didn't look at them directly, he could see the three other people in the room, each one sitting around the large table, looking at him. He noticed them constantly switching their gaze from him to the large vid-screen on the wall to see if he showed any reaction. He didn't.

            Finally, one of them broke the silence. "Isn't there anything we can do?" Patrick asked. He was the youngest person in the room at 34, and his shaggy brown hair and slight frame gave the impression of a bumbling student. Regardless, he was incredibly bright and had been one of Samuel's best prodigies.

Even so, Patrick had been having doubts for a while now. It was understandable considering the circumstances.

            "Patrick," Clarice answered. Samuel had figured she would be the first to answer. Intimidating was a word often used to describe Clarice. Tall, blond, and beautiful, she knew how to use her beauty to get what she wanted, most of the time by allowing men to underestimate her intelligence. Although quick tempered, she had been a valued colleague for years and Samuel trusted her unreservedly. "We've been over this more times than I care to remember."

            "But…" Patrick interrupted.

            A sudden roar of cheers from the vid-screen diverted his attention before he could continue. "I don't think—Yes! Gyrados is unable to continue! Ash takes the lead again!"

            Patrick turned to face Samuel. "You of all people. How can you sit there looking so calm?"

            Samuel laughed. It was a short guttural noise lacking any evidence of humor. He turned to face the others. "Calm you say? In the next 24 hours, we are going to see if any of us will survive to see the 24 after that." He paused. "Calm," he sighed. "Look at that screen." For the first time since the match had begun, Samuel looked as well. Gary's Stantler was using an Illusion attack on Ash's Bulbasaur. He could see the looks of determination on both of their faces. "That is my grandson and the boy who I love as my own. One of them could well de dead by this time tomorrow. I am many things right now, Patrick, but calm is definitely not one of them."

            "We still can't be sure if any of this is going to happen. We're dealing with words written down tens of thousands of years ago." Marshall said. Samuel knew it was only a matter of time before he spoke up. Marshall was a great person with a frighteningly sharp intellect, but he wasn't truly able to accept anything until it sat down in front of him and slapped him in the face. He was the only person present older than Samuel, and his views were often more conservative than the rest. Receding snow-white hair and a sharp set of crystal blue eyes made him look more like a judge than a scientist and historian.

            Samuel slowly looked at Marshall, finding it hard to tear his eyes from the screen and the battle being shown. "A couple of years ago, I probably would have agreed with you, Marshall. That was before the whole world was blindsided by the Lugia incident. There had been warnings then too, but everyone ignored them. Look what happened! We came damn near to having the world destroyed because some half-brained pokémon collector decided he wanted to mess with things he didn't understand. Nothing would please me more than for all of this to be a bunch of ancient hogwash. For God's sake, one of the boys down there right now is the one who saved all of us that time! But until we can be sure we're wrong, we have to continue. Too much is at stake."

            "I understand that Samuel," Marshall replied. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now. I'm only saying that we do not need to get overly worked up over this yet."

            In the silence that followed, Samuel could hear the announcer again. "I don't think Ash's Heracross is going to be able to get up from that one."

            He was distracted from the match as another person rushed into the room and handed him a folder. "What is this?" he asked Jacob. Another of Samuel's former students, Jacob had helped him develop many of the technological devices he now used in his lab. A short but muscular body framed a small and gentle face.

            "I just downloaded this from the Pokémon Institute mainframe. It's from the archaeology department."

At the sound of the word "archaeology" everyone in the room turned to Samuel. As calmly as he could he opened the folder. Inside were papers, mini-disc, and several photos. When he saw what the photos contained, he could feel the color drain from his face. "When was this uploaded?" he asked quickly.

"About four hours ago."

"What is it?" Patrick asked from the table, but Samuel held up a hand to silence him.

"Why didn't we get it before?"

"Eve didn't make a formal announcement," Jacob answered.

"She didn't want to wait for permission from the Institute. She never did have time for the bureaucrats," Samuel said to no one in particular.

"Looks that way. The only reason my search even came across it was because her assistant put these photos into the report and made a small mention of it before sending it off to the institute."

"Damn. Damn! Have you tried contacting the site?"

"Yes. No response."

Samuel sighed. It was really happening. "Call Mr. Russell—"

"I already sent the team. They should be there within the hour."

Clarice spoke up. "Are you going to tell us what happened?"

Samuel, without saying a word, got up and went over the large wall screen and inserted the mini-disc. The ongoing Master's battle shrank to a small box in the upper right hand corner. The rest of the display came alive to show the same image that had been photos. There were noticeable gasps from across the room. The display depicted a stone doorway covered in strange markings. If he were to show them to just about anyone on Earth, they would have said that it was indecipherable. In fact only five people on the entire planet could read it, and at that moment, they were all in the same room, looking at the warning before them. It was a warning that stated for the sake of the world and everything on it, do not enter the room behind this door. For to enter would bring death and destruction to all, and there could be no stopping it. For to enter would wake the Redeyes.

"Where?" Marshall asked, only able to say that one word before his voice broke in fear.

"Pokemopolis. Evidently Dr. Eve, the head archaeologist, found this door sometime early this morning."

"So you're saying that we found it in time?" Patrick asked hopefully.

"No, what I'm saying is that we only found this because of the afterthought of Dr. Eve's assistant. I'm saying that all attempts to contact Eve and her crew at Pokemopolis have failed. I'm saying we have sent a team to stop her from doing anything foolish, but I think we're too late. I'm saying… unless I am wrong, it has begun. We're no longer dealing with just words and theories, this is hard reality."

The words seemed to echo around the room as well as in Samuel's mind. Even so, the announcer's voice once again filled the room. "Arcinine is down! It's down! It might be trying—Yes! No! There's the signal! Arcinine has been eliminated! Ash Ketchum! Ash Ketchum is the newest Pokémon Master! This has been an unbelievable match! Incredible! Ash is the youngest Master ever!"

"The youngest to wear the crown…" Samuel whispered to himself. He pressed a button on the wall and the battle filled the screen.

"What do we do now?" Patrick asked.

Samuel looked around the room. Everyone looked back at him for guidance.

"We wait."

He thought of Delia. Over the last several years, they had become close, especially after the incident with Entei and the Unown. When she had first heard of his plan to study the ancient prophecies, she had called him the "Protector of the Future." What would she call him now, if she learned of what he had just sentenced her son to?

"We hope."

He risked one last glance at the vid-screen. It showed a close up of Ash. His face beamed. Misty and Brock, his two best friends, were beside him. Samuel watched as Ash leaned over and kissed Misty, sending her face several shades redder. Through it all Ash's face beamed with accomplishment and hope for the future. He had no idea of what was to come.

"We pray."

(to be continued…)


	2. Chapter 2

            Misty had run straight onto the field as soon as Arcinine had been counted out. The crowd was so loud that she couldn't even hear her feet hitting the ground. She ran up to Ash and hugged him. She felt him grab her around the waist and twirl her around. "You did it, Ash!" she shouted over the crowd.

            "I won!" he shouted back with an almost goofy grin. She noticed a sudden look of apprehension grow on his face, but before she could wonder the problem was, he kissed her. The kiss was somewhat desperate but at the same time it was gentle and good. At first she was surprised, but then instinct took over and she returned it. Finally they broke apart and she could feel her face grow hot. Sure, she had finally told him how she really felt about him over six months ago, but… it had never felt that good before. She looked into his eyes and saw an almost cute worried look. She ended any apprehension he may have had by kissing him right back.

            The moment was perfect but didn't last long. Brock ran up to them and quickly interrupted. "Unless you guys don't mind getting trampled by a couple hundred reporters, I'd suggest we head out!" It didn't take Misty long to see what Brock was talking about. Like a stampede of Touros, reporters from every major news organization on the Indigo Island were making a beeline toward her and Ash.

            "Let's go!" Ash yelled. Misty turned and followed Ash, who was in turn following a rather large security guard.

            Already the questions had begun. "How does it feel to become a Pokémon Master?" "What does it feel like to be dating Ash?" "What's it like to be the youngest Pokémon Master ever?" The questions wouldn't stop.

            After fighting the mob of people for what seemed like hours, they finally made it back to the locker room door. Misty followed Ash through the door and the security officer quickly slammed the door shut.

            "They're crazy!"

            "Well, I guess this means you're a celebrity now."

            "This was never in the job description," Ash scowled.

            "I'm sure it will get better."

            The door suddenly flew open again, letting the noise of the crowd fill the small room. Brock and Mrs. Ketchum practically jumped into the room, followed by another security officer.

            "Good heavens!" Mrs. Ketchum said. "It's a frenzy out there." The security officer shut the door and the noise level dropped dramatically. Mrs. Ketchum quickly turned her attention to Ash and ran up to her son and hugged him so tight Misty wasn't sure if Ash could breathe. "Ash! Oh Ash! You did it! My little boy, a Pokémon Master! Your father would be so proud!" She broke into tears.

            "Mom—Mom! I can't breathe!" Ash struggled to say.

            Mrs. Ketchum quickly released him. "I'm sorry Ash. I'm just so excited."

            "That's okay mom."

            "That was one of the best Pokémon battles I've ever seen, Ash," Brock said. "You were really good out there. I always knew you would make it here someday."

            "Thanks Brock. That means a lot to me."

            "He's right Ash. I almost can't believe you're the same boy I fished out of that stream five years ago."

            "I can't believe you're the same girl that fished me out either." Misty could feel herself blushing again.

            Just then, another door opened and a man wearing a business suit entered. "Mr. Ketchum?"

            "Yes," Ash replied.

            "Mr. Ketchum, congratulations on your victory."

            "Thanks. Um, who are you?"

            The man laughed. "My name is Harry Bennett. I'm a representative for the Pokémon league. I'm here to help you handle everything you're going to need to do over the next couple of days. And let me tell you, they are going to be busy."

            "Handle what?" Ash asked.

            "Handle what?" the man scoffed. "For starters, we have to schedule your interviews."

            "Interviews?"

            "Of course! Every news origination from here to Johto wants to talk to the youngest Pokémon Master ever. In addition to that, we have public appearances to set up, advertising shots, and publicity photos, not to mention the Induction Ceremony tonight. Public officials, Pokémon masters from years past, foreign dignitaries, the works; they're all going to be there."

            "Can my family and friends go too?"

            Mr. Bennett looked around and lingered on Misty. "Of course! Bringing a date is recommended actually."

            Ash became a little flustered. "I mean…" He looked at Misty nervously. "If you want be my date."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Ash's face lit up like a light bulb and Misty had to contain her laughter.

            Mr. Bennett continued, barely noticing, "Right now we need to go over your itinerary for today and tomorrow."

            Ash turned to Misty and Brock. "Um, why don't you guys head on back to the hotel? I'll be around sometime. It looks like this is going to take awhile."

            "Ok, Ash," Brock replied.

            "Sure Ash, no problem," Misty added. "Besides, if I'm going to be your date tonight," she said with a wry smile, "I'm going to need a new dress." Misty couldn't contain the laughs this time as she watched Ash's face go bright red. "Later Ash."

            Misty followed Brock out into the hallway where two more security guards waited. They turned to them, and one spoke up. "You trying to get out of here? I'll help you get through the crowd."

            "Gee, thanks," Brock replied. They began to follow the guard as he led them through the many hallways of the arena. "He did it," Brock said after a minute. "I mean, I always knew he could, but he really honestly did it."

            "I know how you feel. I guess it really hasn't sunk in yet; Ash is a Pokémon Master."

            "Incredible." He paused. "You two sure seem to be finally hitting it off."

            Misty felt herself blushing. "Yeah," she replied, thinking back on the kiss Ash had given her.

            "All I can say is that it's about damn time."

            "Thanks." She fell silent again. "I'm just worried that now that Ash has won… well, things will be different. Maybe we waited too long."

            Brock stopped and faced her. "You are ever the worried one, aren't you? Let me tell you something right here and now. You two have had a thing for each other long before you even admitted it to yourselves. Believe me, I was there to watch. When you guys finally told each other how you felt, I saw you two light up brighter than anything else I've seen. It's never too late for love, if it's truly there. You two are the most stubborn people I have ever known. Nothing will be able to come between you, nothing. I guarantee it."

            Misty smiled. "Thanks Brock. I needed that."

            "No problem. That's what I'm here for. Now if I could only get myself a date," he said with a smile.

            "One day, Brock. If you're anything, you're persistent."

* * * * *

            Frank Russell slowly made his way through the stone passageway, his four-man team silently following him. He was just thankful that the workers here had lined all the passageways in the place with electric lights. He didn't want to think about having to navigate his way with flashlights. Old places like this had always given him the creeps. They had too many ghosts. He glanced down once more at the diagram in his hand. According to it, they were nearing the area in which Oak thought the chamber was most likely to be.

            After several more minutes, they reached an intersection with another passageway. "Where to now?" asked one of his men.

            Frank consulted the map again to be sure before gesturing to his left. "This way."

            Without warning the silence was broken by static emanating from the radio at his side. Professor Oak's voice filled the silent corridor. "Mr. Russell? Mr. Russell, are you there?"

            Frank quickly grabbed the radio and hissed, "Professor! I told you not to radio me! Damn it, you could have given us away!"

            "I'm sorry. But I hope you can understand my concern."

            "I understand that you think this Dr. Eve person might have just found herself one nasty… something. That's why I'm here," Frank said, silently adding, _but if you get me killed down here, it's not going help matters. He found himself wishing he hadn't taken this job. Sure, the money he had been offered was good, but this whole thing was beginning to make his job back on the Viridian City SWAT team seem like a low risk occupation. __It's a little late now to worry about that, he said to himself. Here he was, two hundred feet underground, trying not to get lost, with a ragtag team of ex-police officers and out of work bounty hunters; a little too late indeed. "I have my men to worry about," he said, again silently adding, __not to mention my own skin._

            "Of course. Again I am sorry. What is your status? Any sign of Dr. Eve or anything unusual?"

            "No sir. There has been no sign of life, human or otherwise, since we entered the forsaken rock pit."

            "Understood. I would like to request that you keep continued radio contact for the duration of the mission."

            "Affirmative. Radio contact will be maintained." At least it would keep him from pulling that stunt again. After flipping the appropriate switch on the radio, he pulled out an earpiece and miniature microphone from his bag and attached them to the radio. He then replaced the radio on his belt and nodded forward.

            It wasn't until they had traveled through several more intersections that Frank really began to doubt if, no matter what precautions he had taken, they would be able to find their way out of this place if circumstances warranted a hasty retreat.

It was around that time that they found what they had been looking for. In front of Frank and his team, the floor was scarred by a gaping hole. Upon closer examination, he noticed a rope ladder leading downward. He could see light emanating from below.

            "Professor," he whispered.

            "Find something?" the professor's voice asked into his ear.

            "I think so. There's a large hole in the floor just in front of us. It leads… somewhere, but I can detect light from below." He paused to check the map. "We're right dab in the middle of the area you indicated."

            "Ok, proceed." Frank was about to issue orders when the professor spoke again. "And Frank, be careful."

            "I will." The old guy wasn't all that bad, Frank had to admit, even if he was rather annoying to work for.

            He turned to his men. "I go first. One at a time, follow me down. From here on in, weapon safeties off, but don't do anything stupid. Remember, we have two civilians down here." They each nodded. "At least I hope we still do," he added grimly. "Let's go."

            The hole was deeper than he had first estimated, but he was down the ladder in less than a minute. He took a quick look around as he scanned for any sign of life. The small room was empty. Several portable workmen's lights illuminated the room, giving him a clear view of the ancient frescos that adorned the walls. They weren't why he was here, though. The large door in front of him was. He waited until all four of his men were down before contacting the professor again.

            "This is definitely it. I can see the door. It's right in front of me, just like in the photos."

            "Is it open? Is it open?" The fear in the professor's voice made Frank nervous. He knew that he knew very little of what was going down, but all of a sudden, he was really glad he couldn't read what was written on that door. As far as he was concerned, it was better to just think of this as a pokémon on the loose. Unlike on the force, however, here deadly force was authorized.

            Frank stared at the gap between the door and the wall. "I'm sorry professor. It's been opened. The opening looks just wide enough for one person to slide through."

            "Damn! Damn it, we're too late! Is there any sign of Dr. Eve or her assistant?"

            "No sir. They may be on the other side."

            "We have to determine if the statue has been compromised."

            "Checking now professor. Stand by." Frank was really beginning to doubt that whatever the professor feared was down here was just a simple pokémon. _I just hope I live long enough to find out what it is, he thought. On second thought, he decided he could live well without ever having to find that out._

            As quietly as he could, he made his way to the open doorway and peered through. Due to the angle of the door, however, he couldn't see much. The room appeared to be illuminated by the same portable lights that lit the room he was in, one of which was just in his line of vision and looked to have been knocked over. The walls seemed circular, at least the small section he could see, and consisted of roughly hewn stone which was covered with strange pattern.

            Taking a deep breath, he stepped through and quickly surveyed the rest of the room. It took all of his experience as a police officer and a strong stomach not to scream out loud and spill his lunch all over the sand covered floor. Even so, he stumbled back through the gap in the doorway, falling to the stone floor hard, and he had to swallow back the sour taste that was rising up in his throat.

            His team quickly picked him up and dragged him away from the door, weapons aimed at the small gap. "What happened?" "Are you hurt?" "Were you attacked?" He held up his hand to stop the barrage of questions.

            Even after they quieted, the professor's voice bit into his ear. "Frank? Are you alright? What's going on down there? Frank? Answer me, damn it!"

            "I'm all right professor," he said, still trying to control his breathing.

            "Thank God. What just happened? Did it attack you?"

            "Nothing attacked me," he replied, talking loudly enough for the others to hear him as well. "However, Dr. Eve and her assistant are dead." There was noticeable shuffling among the men.

            "Dead? How?" the professor asked.

            "I'm not sure, professor." He'd had his share of murder cases during his tenure as a police officer but nothing like what he had just seen.

            "The poor woman. She was a good student—" The professor trailed off and grew silent.

            "Professor?" Frank asked gently.

            "Was the statue still there?" he asked finally, his voice telling Frank that he already knew the answer.

            "No, professor. There was a pedestal in the middle of the room, and it could have held something like what you described, but the room was empty."

            "Is there any sign that the creature is still there?" The urgency in his voice only seemed to grow.

            "No professor. The bodies, um, they looked like they'd been dead for at least two hours. Plus, we haven't seen nor heard anything since we've been down here. I'm thinking that whatever it was that killed those two women is long gone by now. It might even be lost somewhere in this place. Believe me, it wouldn't be hard."

            "No. It's too smart to get lost. You can count on that. If it isn't there, it's gone."

             "That's almost comforting. What do you want us to do now?" Frank couldn't help but ask himself how the professor seemed to know so much about this thing, especially considering no one had ever seen it.

            "Pull out. As carefully as possible, I want you out of there."

            "But what about—"

            "We can let the authorities handle it… later. Right now I want you to get you and your men out of Pokemopolis as fast as you can."

            "Professor…"

            "You heard me, Frank. You don't know what you're dealing with down there." The fear in his voice seemed to build.

            "I've been reminded of that fact just about every minute I've been down here. If you would only tell me what this thing is," Frank replied.

            "There's no time for that now. Not with it loose. You saw what it did to those women."

            "Alright, alright. I'll do what you say."

            "Thank you. Return here and I'll tell you everything I can."

            "Roger." Frank stood up, flipping off the radio as he did and pulling out the earpiece.

            "What do we do now?" one of the men asked.

            Though he wasn't sure why, Frank wasn't ready to leave the place. Perhaps it was a professional curiosity. Or maybe it was just that his years of training as a police officer wouldn't let him leave those two women unattended. Whatever the reason, Frank answered, "We're going in there. We're going to see if there's any clue to where this thing went." He could tell that this wasn't what they had wanted to hear. "I'm going to warn you, what you're going to see in there isn't pretty. We were too late to do anything for them, but I'll be damned if I'm going to leave them like they are." He looked into the eyes of each man. "Any objections?" None of them looked particularly eager to go, but no one said anything. "Alright, let's go."

            Frank led the way. As he neared the door once again, he swallowed nervously, hoping the others didn't see him. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the gap in the door. Again, he had to fight back the sour taste in his mouth. He heard the gasps behind him as the others made their way into the circular room.

            The two women were the same as he had seen them before. Between himself and the pedestal in the center of the room, they lay, one intact, the other… not. It looked as if someone had strapped some kind of explosive to her chest and let it explode. There was very little left of her above the waist. Frank looked long enough to notice that there were no burn marks or anything else that would indicate such an explosive. The strange pattern he had first noticed on the wall was, he grimly noted, her splattered blood. The entire room was covered with it. Her lower torso down looked relatively undamaged, but that only made the scene that much more disturbing. The other body, from the report the professor had given him, he identified as Dr. Eve, appeared undamaged. Her clothes were stained with blood, but it was impossible to tell if it was from wounds or from her assistant. It wasn't until Frank moved closer that he noticed her face, which was twisted in a look of utter horror, her eyes staring blankly upward. He silently bent down and closed her eyes, placing his jacket over her head.

            "Look for any sign of the creature or anything that might give us an idea where it went." It took him a moment to realize he was whispering.

* * * * *

            _More humans…_

_What a pleasant surprise… It needed more nourishment. The one had not been enough. It had been too quick with the first… it had lost focus with its hunger and had gone too fast…It had wasted its life essence…it was a mistake it wouldn't repeat this time… five humans… a worthy meal… It should give it enough power to find its new host…It could feel his presence… One who possessed a will strong enough to house it…Its reign would begin anew…_

_Soon…_

_It watched…It waited…_

_Almost time…_

* * * * *

            Frank continued to examine the room. He couldn't see anything that could help him or the professor. Maybe the old man had already known that there was nothing to find and that's why he wanted him to leave. _No, Frank thought, __there had to be more to it than that. The fear in the professor's voice still haunted him. What was this creature that gave him so much dread?_

He knelt in front of the empty pedestal. He could see that more of the strange writing from the door was carved on it. _What does it all mean? he asked himself for the hundredth time since entering this stone tomb. __Tomb… That's how he was beginning to look at this place._

            "What the—Shit!" someone yelled.

            The shout sent Frank spinning around, his gun drawn. "What—" he began. Then he saw it. What _it was, Frank didn't know. It was as if a black cloud had descended from somewhere above them. No, less opaque than a cloud, more like mist or fog… like concentrated darkness._

Suddenly the room was bathed in red light. The creature had… opened its eyes. Frank couldn't find another way to describe it. He stared at the red orbs and saw a flurry of emotions within them: hunger, anger, and most frighteningly of all, hatred.

There was no doubt in Frank's mind that this was the professor's mysterious creature. _Now that I've found it, Frank thought, __what do I do? He saw that the others, each with his gun drawn and pointed the newcomer, were looking at him as if to ask the very same question. Although the creature had not made any overtly hostile motions toward them, Frank didn't want to take any chances. The evidence of what it could do lay all around him._

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it attacked. It quickly moved toward one of the men and… engulfed him. Frank could still see the man's outline through the semi-transparency of the creature. The screams of pain that followed reverberated around the small room.

"Kill that thing!" Frank shouted. The others needed no other encouragement. Each man fired his clip empty, careful not to hit their comrade, but the bullets just passed straight through and hit the wall behind, shattering the ancient stone wall. Stone slivers sailed through the air, one slicing deeply into Frank's cheek as it flew by. "Cease fire!"

The creature, seemingly finished with its victim, let the man drop to the floor. His eyes stared lifelessly, telling of the great horror he had just endured. Then, just as quickly as before, it attacked again, seizing its victim. It looked to Frank as if he was feeding, but it had left no marks on the body. _What am I supposed to do? Bullets won't stop it._

Frank's remaining two companions broke and ran back to the opening in the door. There they stumbled together and stopped. The air in front of them would not let them pass.

"It's blocked! I can't get through! Shit, man, what the hell are we doing down here?" The man yelled.

_Must be a psychic barrier, Frank thought clinically. Then a new thought struck him. If this was a pokémon, then most likely it was a ghost pokémon of some sort, and the one thing ghost pokémon are weak against… it's other ghost pokémon. Although it had been years since he had been an official trainer, he still had his meager collection of pokémon._

"Ghastly, go!" He shouted as he released the pokéball. "Confusion attack!" he added after the pokémon had appeared.

If the creature was confused, it didn't show it. Instead it momentarily switched its attention from its victim to Frank's pokémon. It released a red beam of energy that struck Ghastly and sent it reeling back into the opposite wall. The small pokémon flared red then fell silently to the floor.

Frank backpedaled several steps as he stared at his dead pokémon. The creature returned it attention back to the man in its grasp. _Why doesn't it attack us? he asked himself. But he already knew the answer. __Because it knows we can't hurt it. We're just some kind of food for it. Numbly he reached down for the radio at his side. He wasn't sure if at that moment he realized that there was no chance for him to leave this place alive, but he knew the professor had to be told what was happening here. He seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on. Frank had never been one to be overly dramatic, but only one look at the creature's eyes had been enough to tell him that this thing wanted more than just them. It wanted something much bigger, and if something wasn't done, nothing would be able to stop it._

"Pr-pr-professor," he tried to say into the radio, but his voice cracked. "Professor!" he managed finally.

"Frank? What's wrong?" Even though he knew that professor was miles away and could offer no help, Frank had to admit it was a very good thing to hear his voice.

"It's here, professor. It's killed two of my men already. It's got the door blocked with some kind of psychic barrier."

"God Frank, there's—"

"There isn't, professor and there's no time to debate the issue either. Listen, you've got to find a way to kill this thing. I don't think it's going to stay here for long. I don't know what kind of pokémon this thing is, but it's more powerful than anything I've ever seen."

"It's not a pokémon Frank," the professor said weakly. "Not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

"It's a demon. Like the god birds it's very old and very, very powerful. Only it wants to destroy the world." Frank could understand why the professor hadn't told him about this before. If Frank hadn't seen it himself, he would have said the old man was stark raving mad. Instead he only listened. "It's been trapped in that room for thousands of years. We just didn't know where it was. We didn't know until we got those photos of the door. We had hoped to be able to stop it before it was awakened, that's why we sent you. If I had known that it—"

"Too late to worry about that now, professor. I knew the risks when I signed on… well, almost. I just hope you got a way to kill this demon thing."

"We have a way—"

A shout from one of the other distracted Frank from the rest of the professor's words. Suddenly Frank doubled over in pain. Through tear-filled eyes he could see that the creature had engulfed him. His mind was filled with a foreign presence, animalistic in its base hunger, but Frank could feel a frightening intelligence beneath it.  Searching… voracious… it was a ravenous hunt through his very being. Then, although he imagined it impossible, the pain increased. It felt as if his blood was boiling… as if something was being pulled from him. Whatever it had been looking for, the creature had found it, and now it was trying to rip it away. Slowly at first, Frank could feel it beginning to tear. The pain intensified until his mind began to shut down from the overload… It was then he realized it was he that was being ripped away… Had he been a religious man he would have said his soul was being taken… Whatever its name, suddenly it ripped free. Instantly emptiness filled him, as if to replace what had been lost… The darkness, however, did not brighten… his mind… he couldn't feel… only the darkness… the endless darkness… he screamed… _please… someone… save me… No one returned his cry… he was left to drown in the darkness alone…_

* * * * *

            Misty silently walked up to the hotel room door and knocked. _Why does Ash want to see me now? Misty asked herself for the thirtieth time since he had called her. She waited, but there was no response from within, so she knocked again. This time a voice greeted her. "Sorry! Come on in."_

            Misty opened the door and saw Ash sitting on a lush bed. "Hey, Misty," he said when he saw her.

            "Hey," she replied as she walked in. "I was beginning to wonder if you were here or not."

            "Yeah, sorry about that. I was kind of lost in my thoughts."

            Misty chuckled. "Someone call the papers. This is breaking news."

            Ash joined in with her laughter. "Please, no more papers. I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in interviews and photo ops. Who would have thought that being a Pokémon Master would be so much work?"

            "Almost makes you wish you'd let Gary win?" she asked with a smile.

            "Not on your life. Gary would have had enough gall to enjoy it all."

            "You're right. Besides, we don't need his ego growing any larger than it already is." The two fell into laughter again. Then Misty remembered Ash's phone call and the urgency in his voice. "Umm, Ash, why did you call me over here? Over the phone you said it was important." Instantly Ash's face grew somber and serious. _What could be wrong? Misty asked herself._

            "It is," he replied. Misty could feel herself tense at his tone.

            "What is it?" she managed to ask.

            "I wanted to talk. When I asked you before the match to see me, I hadn't had a big formal dinner in mind. Mr. Bennett told me that I'm going to be pretty much swamped for the next week or two and, well, this couldn't wait. Things are changing too fast, and I want to be sure of some things before they do." Misty was beginning to get even more worried. It wasn't like Ash to be this serious. The last time she had seen him like this was when he had told her that he loved her. Just then, a horrible thought flashed through her. "_Things are changing so fast."__ It was the same thing she had said to Brock only hours before. Was he leaving her? Did she just not fit into his new life as Pokemon Master? Her mind was racing. Misty was one who prided herself on independence, but after so many years at Ash's side, she didn't know what she would do without him. She loved him._

            Seemingly unaware of the turmoil within her, Ash continued. "You've been by my side since the very beginning Misty. I was telling the truth earlier when I said wouldn't have been here today if it hadn't been for you. To be honest, there's a good chance I wouldn't be alive if you hadn't been there to save me."

            _Is he trying to let me down easy? Misty could only sit there silently waiting for him to continue. She wanted to shout at him to tell her already and put her out of her misery. _

            Ash took a deep breath. "Misty…" He sighed. "Misty…" he began again. He lowered his head. Softly he said, "I didn't know how hard this would be."

He raised his head and looked into her eyes. _His eyes are so kind, she thought suddenly._

"Misty… will you marry me?" With that, he pulled forth a small box, which he opened to reveal an amberrite ring.

            Misty couldn't think. Her brain wasn't working. Marry? Dumbly, she realized that he hadn't been dumping her, he had been proposing to her. The thought wouldn't process. She had been so sure…

            Ash must have finally noticed her flurry of emotions. Quickly he added, "It wouldn't have to be right away. I know we're only 16 and all, but I know with all my heart that my feelings for you will never change. I love you, Misty Waterflower."

            The room blurred. It took Misty several seconds to realize that tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Yes, Ash. Yes!" She hugged him. She felt him hug her back. Her lips found his in an embrace. Numbly, she felt him slip the ring onto her finger. It was the happiest day of her life. "I love you, Ash Ketchum."

            They just sat on the bed, satisfied to be in each other's arms. Finally, after a time, Ash gently pulled away.

            "There's more," he said softly, but happily.

            "More?" Misty asked with a quiet chuckle, trying in vain to wipe the tears of joy from her eyes. "How could there be more?"

            "Well," he replied, "I asked Mr. Bennett about it while we were going over my itinerary, and he put me in touch with some league officials. It's an idea I've had for awhile, but I never thought it would happen. The waiting lines are supposed to be enormous, but the officials said since I'm a Pokemon Master, they said I could get fast tracked."

            "Ash," Misty interrupted gently, "you're rambling."

            "Yeah, sorry. Everything is happening so fast."

            Misty couldn't help but laugh. "You're one to talk about fast. You're not the one who just got proposed to."

            Ash laughed as well. "That's true. But you did just make me the happiest guy on the planet by accepting."

            "When did you become such a sweet talker?"

            "Oh, I don't know. I guess I've picked up a few things from Brock over the years."

            Tears were running down her face again, this time from laughter. "Just tell me what else you have planned, Ash Ketchum, before I have Pikachu thundershock you."

            "Ok, ok. You see, the Indigo League is looking to open several new gyms over the next year, and I thought that since Pallet Town had never had its own gym before… that, well, we could open a gym together. I know it's always been a dream of yours to have your own gym. The league wants to open several multi-specialized gyms and thought a water-electric type gym would be perfect. I thought we could call it the Mist Gym."

            "The Mist Gym," Misty repeated.

            "Do you like it?" Ash asked hopefully.

            "I love it!" She hugged him tightly and they began to kiss once more.

(to be continued…)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the kind reviews! I'm glad you like it so far. Joy-girl, don't worry, Misty isn't left out. : )

It was no use. They weren't answering any radio calls. There had been no word from the team since Frank's last radio message had been cut short.

            "Now what?" Patrick asked.

            "The same as before. Nothing has changed. We knew the chances of stopping the release of the Redeyes were almost nonexistent. The loss of communication with the team doesn't change anything. We move along as planned." Samuel hated himself as he said those words. Five men were dead; he couldn't force himself to believe that they had somehow survived the attack. They were dead because he had sent them. _It was for a greater good, he tried to tell himself. To what level did the body count have to rise before his ideology turned into mass homicide? What was the price of the future? "We have to wait. The ceremony will begin in two hours. After that…," he turned to Marshall, "we will see what truth these ancient words speak."_

            "Shouldn't we be making plans to secure the flower now?" Marshall asked.

            "Perhaps, but we will not be doing so." This caused some discomfort among the others, but Samuel continued undeterred. "No matter what other crimes for which history may hold me accountable, I will not let one be that I stole one minute more of happiness from those two than absolutely necessary."

            "Eloquent words, Samuel," Clarice said, " and I can see why you feel the way you do, but can you honestly say the risk is worth it?"

            "Yes," he said flatly. "I'm leaving in 10 minutes to be in position when… it happens. I will secure the flower and return here. Make sure everything is in place when I return."

            "It will be," Clarice replied.

            "Good." Samuel stood and made his way to the door. He turned at the last second. "Remember why we do what we do… and never forget the price that must be paid in the end."

* * * * *

            Ash was late. How could he be late for his own award ceremony? He had had to call Brock to help him with his tuxedo and between the two of them, they had made quite a mess out of the whole affair. Finally they had sorted it out, but now they were racing through the many hallways of the hotel, trying to reach the banquet hall in time.

            "I still can't believe you did it," Brock said.

            "Chu!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement. He had shocked Ash hard for not letting him in on the big secret and making him find out only when Ash and Misty had broken the news to their friends.

            "Well, it just kind of happened."

            "Don't give me that," Brock replied. "I saw the ring. You've had this planned out for awhile."

            Ash could feel his face go red. "Well…"

            Suddenly they were there. His mother and Misty were waiting anxiously outside the grand double doors.

            "There you are!" Misty practically shouted. "Where have you been?"

            "Priii!" Togepi echoed in her arms.

            "Well," Ash looked down sheepishly, "we got kind of lost."

            "How could you get lost? The ballroom is on the top floor!"

            "Yeah… well…"

            "Well, at least you made it." his mother said. "I thought you were going to be late."

            "Don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock assured her, "Ash just needed some, umm, tailoring assistance before we could allow Misty to see him."

            Misty caught Ash's hand and pulled him closer for a quick kiss. Ash noticed the look his mother gave him. While she absolutely adored Misty, she hadn't been completely thrilled to hear of the engagement. She had calmed down only after he had assured her that they weren't going to be getting married quite yet. The additional news of his gym idea helped matters since Ash and Misty would be living at his home until all the plans could be finalized.

            After giving Brock and himself a moment to catch their breath after running full speed through the glamorous hotel, Ash, with Misty at his side, led them through the doors.

The ballroom was enormous. Even so, the throngs of people milling about made it feel almost stuffy. Table after table littered the room, each adorned with elaborate centerpieces and fine dining ware. The wall opposite the entrance was dominated by a large stage, on which a small orchestra played soothing music, barely audible over the hundreds of conversations. Several couples were already making use of the dance floor in the center of the grand hall.

            Ash was overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. _All this is for me? he asked himself. It almost made him feel small somehow. Literally hundreds of people, men in tuxedos and women in dresses of every imaginable color, mingled about, looking from a distance like a mobile piece of abstract artwork._

            "I'll go get some drinks," his mother said. Ash watched her wind her way through people until she was lost in the sea of humanity.

            Once she was gone, Brock spoke up, "I wanted to say congratulations, Misty. We really didn't get a chance to talk much before. It came as quite a surprise." Ash caught the look Brock sent his way.

            "You're telling me," Misty replied with a laugh.

            "I'm just glad you said yes," Ash said.

            "How many times are you two going to make me repeat myself? Huh? You two were made for each other."

            "I don't know," Misty said slyly. "I just like to hear you say it."

            "It's destiny, my friends, pure and simple."

            "I never really liked the idea of destiny," Ash said suddenly. "I like to be in control of myself."

            "Well!" Brock laughed. "Ash the philosopher."

            "Not quite," Ash replied, slowly getting closer to Misty. "But I have to admit, if it was destiny that brought me to Misty, I'm willing to sit back and enjoy the ride." Ash leaned over and stole a quick kiss on Misty's cheek.

            "So when are you going to have kids?"

            Ash nearly choked. "Umm, kids?" Ash looked at Misty and she stared back at him.

            "Not for a while," they chimed together.

            "That's good," Brock laughed. "Although I have to admit it would be nice to have a little tike running around called me Uncle Brock."

            "Chu! Pika pikachu."

            Ash chuckled. "I guess Pikachu wants to be an uncle too."

            The three friends shared heartfelt laughter. A moment later his mother returned, followed by Mr. Bennett.

            "There you are," the man said. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I was beginning to think our guest of honor had flown the coop."

            "No sir," Ash quickly replied, "I'm here."

            "Well, we don't have much time. Let me show you to your table." He turned to Misty. "This is your girlfriend, correct?"

            "Well, actually," Ash began nervously.

            "I'm his fiancée," Misty explained.

            "Oh," Mr. Bennett replied. "Congratulations," he added almost as an afterthought.

            Ash followed him through the mass of people, the others right behind. Ash saw several familiar faces, Pokemon Gym leaders, people he had seen on TV, but couldn't remember their names, and more. Soon they reached their destination. Mr. Bennett led them to a table right in front of the stage. Three seats were occupied, but four were empty. Seated at the table were Mr. Keitaro Maxwell, the president of the Indigo Island, Mr. Goodshell, the president of the Pokemon League, and Sabrina, Marsh Gym leader and the newly elected chairperson of the Pokemon Gym Leaders Guild. Ash couldn't believe it. He was going to eat dinner with three of the most powerful people in Indigo.

            Ash and his friends took their seats. Ash found himself between Misty and his mother, and Brock, to what must have been to his immense enjoyment, sat next to Sabrina. Introductions were made all around, and then the food arrived. To expedite matters, their orders had been taken earlier from their hotel rooms. The food was excellent, and Ash had to struggle to remember his table manners.

            Even so, the food did not last long, and after a polite silence, Sabrina spoke up. "Mrs. Ketchum," she began, "you are a strong woman. I can see from whom your son received his strong will and kind heart."

            "Why, thank you, Ms. Sabrina."

            "Please, call me Sabrina."

            "Of course," his mother replied politely.

            "Your son is very talented, Mrs. Ketchum," Mr. Goodshell added. "He is a testament to everything the Pokemon League stands for."

            Ash could feel himself blushing. Sabrina turned to Misty. "Congratulations on your engagement."

            Misty looked surprised. Ash was too. "How?" Misty asked.

            "You forget my abilities. I didn't mean to pry, mind you, but I could not help but sense the waves of happiness emanating from you." It was Misty's turn to blush. "Do not be embarrassed. You two are very strong individuals and your love in turn is strong." She paused, "Though I must add this. Destiny has its hold on you. What this will lead to, only time will tell, but you must believe in yourselves and each other."

            Ash had never truly understood Sabrina's unusual gifts, but he knew she was one to be trusted. "Thank you."

            "Do not thank me. I only speak what I sense."

The mood hung in the area, as if that no one wanted to break the silence, until after several minutes had passed, Mr. Goodshell stood up. "Excuse me, but I have a ceremony to begin." The short man then took his leave and left.

Ash couldn't help but smile. How many people were able to realize two of their most treasured dreams in the span of only one day?

* * * * *

The sun was beginning to set as Samuel drove down the nearly deserted road. The thick trees that grew high on either side added their shadows to the growing darkness. _Soon it will begin, he thought, but then corrected himself. __No, this began long before today._

Even now, after two years of preparations and research, he still had a hard time believing that something like this could happen. They had examined thousands of prophecies over that time. Some had turned out to be just fairy tales or the ramblings of deranged minds. Others were real, but only told of minor things, such as a hurricane or earthquake. Minor on the scale that Samuel had been interested in, at least. He had learned first hand that some prophecies were much grander in scope, and it only took one of these to go unheeded… The Lugia incident had taught him that.

He had always been an avid student of history. It went hand in hand with his studies of ancient and rare pokémon. He had begun his pokémon journey like so many others, hoping one day to become Pokemon Master. It did not take him long, however, to see that his true calling was in research. Even then he had been fascinated with the ancient warnings that he came across in his journeys. He had examined the writings on the Shamotty Islands during one of his first travels through the Orange Islands. The tale of mystical birds and the enigmatic beast of the sea intrigued him. He had had no idea at the time that the chosen one it spoke of would later be one of his own students, Ash Ketchum.

In fact, it wasn't until months after the entire Lugia incident that he would learn Ash's full involvement in the matter. With rapt interest he had listened to Ash and his friends relate their story of heroics and adventure. The tale had left Samuel with an odd mix of academic fascination at the historical and scientific dynamics in play and a deep sorrow that one so young had had to bear such a heavy burden. Something else in their story also sparked an interest, although he didn't tell them. He had seen one flaw in their logic. The all-important line "and the world will turn to Ash" was not calling Ash by name. Instead, it was warning of the fate that the Earth would suffer if the chosen one failed in his task. That was what one had to remember when dealing with prophecy. The future was not set in stone, even if it was written there.

Samuel jerked hard on the steering wheel. The oncoming truck blared its horn and sped by in a sea of noise. Gaining control of the car, he tried to steady his breathing. He wouldn't be able to help anybody if he was killed in a traffic accident. Samuel wouldn't put it past fate to throw that little bit of irony into the mix, so he tried to pay more attention to the road. It didn't really matter anyway. He could see the outline of the Indigo plateau against the darkening horizon. Checking the traffic, he pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and put the car into park.

It had been that idea of the malleability of the future that had led him into his new pursuit. While it may have been fate that Ash had shown up at the right time to save the world, Samuel was not prepared to lay the future of humanity solely in fate's hands. He was determined to help it along the way. Like everything else he had done in his life, he began by researching all he could find about prophecies and their authors. He had come across a number of interesting writings during his years of travels and found them a good place to begin. After several months, however, he began to find the task just too large for one man undertake alone. 

He had long since become independently wealthy from the proceeds of his research, so money wasn't a problem. He had met many of the world's best minds during his years, and it was only a matter of time before he collected several of them whose ideas about the prophecies mirrored his own. And so, the "Protectors of the Future" were born. From then on, should the future have the need to be guided into a certain path, Samuel Oak would be there to steer it on its way. 

And that was why he, Samuel Oak, famed pokémon researcher, was now sitting in a car parked beside a deserted highway, waiting for an event to unfold that had been foretold over fifty thousand years before, an event under any other circumstances he would have given his life to prevent. Had events been different, he would have found cause to laugh. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed.

* * * * *

Misty couldn't remember when Ash had looked so nervous, aside from several hours before when he had proposed to her. The ceremony had lasted for over an hour so far, and Ash had been on stage for the last twenty minutes, waiting for Mr. Goodshell to finish yet another one of his longwinded speeches. She knew he was never good in front of large crowds, except when he was battling, of course. Then, to the great relief of Ash, and seemingly everyone else in the room, Mr. Goodshell's speech came to a close.

"And now," Mr. Goodshell continued, "it is my great pleasure to present Ash Ketchum with this medallion, the symbol of his achievement and all for which he and the Pokemon League stand." With a slow deliberate gesture, he placed the medallion around Ash's neck. "May you live to honor the values of the Pokemon League and Indigo Island." Ash managed a mumbled thank you before the entire room erupted in a standing ovation, which Misty whole-heartedly joined.

Slowly, almost methodically, Ash returned to the table. Before he had a chance to sit down, Misty enveloped him a large hug. She could feel the heavy medallion around his neck bump against her chest. To her surprise, she felt tears beginning to well in her eyes. _I never knew I could be so happy_, she thought to herself. She quickly wiped her eyes and tried to regain her composure before Ash could see. Thankfully, at that very moment, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Hello there, buddy."

"Pikachu pika pika chu." Misty smiled at the two friends as they regained their seats. The others gave them a quiet, polite round of applause.

"You did wonderfully, dear," Mrs. Ketchum said to Ash.

"Thanks, mom," he replied. "I didn't have to do much, just stand there and look pretty."

"That'd be the day," Misty said slyly.

"I'll never be as pretty as you," he retorted with a coy look in his eye.

"That's it!" Brock said in an exaggerated huff. "I want to know where you are hiding the real Ash Ketchum. This smooth talking ladies man can't be the same person I spent five years traveling around all of Indigo with." Misty lost all sense of her composure and broke out into laughter. Ash joined in, followed by Pikachu, and even Mrs. Ketchum.

They quieted down as the orchestra began to play their music once more. Misty turned to her fiancée. "Ash, would you like to dance?"

"Umm, sure," he replied, somewhat nervously. 

Misty turned to Mrs. Ketchum. "Would you mind holding Togepi for me?"

"Of course not, dear. Go ahead," she replied smiling. Misty was rather relieved that Mrs. Ketchum was not too upset about the engagement. She had been like a mother to her for the last several years, and soon, she really would be. Misty handed the small egg pokémon over to her. Ash took her hand and they began to make their way to the dance floor.

Misty had taken only a step when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw that it was Sabrina. "Sabrina?" she asked, surprised.

"Misty," the enigmatic woman answered, "I was hoping to have a quick word with you."

"Ok." She turned to Ash. "I'll meet you at the dance floor."

"Sure, Misty." Ash seemed as curious about this as she was, but left without another word, Pikachu on his heels.

"How can I help you, Sabrina?"

"I just wanted to tell you something. I spoke truth before about your love for Ash, and his love for you. Even a mild telepath could sense the bonds between you."

"Thank you," Misty said, still not sure where this was leading.

"You have a strong heart as well as a strong mind. Unfortunately, at times what the heart tells you and what your mind tells you differ, and you are forced to choose. Remember to choose wisely."

"I don't think I really understand…"

"No, I don't suppose you do," Sabrina said with a smile, which for some reason seemed rather forced. "But I trust you will when the time comes."

With that, Sabrina turned and walked away, silent as the wind. Her words were still swimming in her head by the time she had caught up with Ash.

"So what did she say?"

"I'm not really sure," she replied truthfully. "You know how she can be at times," she continued, and smiled, wondering if it looked as forced as Sabrina's had.

"Yeah. I just hope it was good news." If Ash noticed anything amiss, he kept it to himself. "Ready?" he asked offering his hand.

"Yes," she answered, this time her smile genuine.

"There you are," rang a voice behind them.

"Brock, what are you doing?" Misty asked.

"Dancing, of course." Misty then noticed Mrs. Ketchum following behind the pokémon breeder.

"Mom?" Ash asked.

Mrs. Ketchum must have noticed something in her son's look. "Ash Ketchum!" she scolded her son. "You friend here just offered to dance with me since my only son ran away leaving his poor mother all alone." The twinkle in her eye made Misty laugh and soon Ash was laughing as well.

"Sorry, mom."

"You're forgiven this time. Now get dancing before your fiancée runs off with Pikachu."

Ash quickly followed his mother's advice and soon Misty was led to the center of the dance floor. Brock and Mrs. Ketchum followed. Luckily, a new song was just beginning, and soon the two pairs were moving across the floor to the slow somber music. As they danced, Misty rested her head on Ash's shoulder.

* * * * *

_It could feel his presence. It was getting closer. The life essence from the humans at the ruins has restored much of its energy. It was thinking clearer now. Soon it would have what it needed to begin anew its reign._

_These pathetic humans and pok_é_mon… Much had changed since its imprisonment over 50,000 years before. It was a pitiful amount of improvement considering the amount of time they had had._

_Nothing like what would have been accomplished if its reign had been unimpeded. Nevertheless, that would soon change. It was nearing its goal. The time was drawing ever nearer… The humans and pokémon would accept its reign or die like the animals they were._

* * * * *

Samuel rested his head. Waiting… he had always hated waiting. Through his many years, he had come to realize how much time people wasted just waiting. Waiting for someone or something to provide the catalyst that would force them in action. They only spent the small remainder actually out in the world accomplishing something.

Unfortunately, at the moment, he could do nothing but wait. Nothing to do but wait for his catalyst that would send him into action…

Suddenly, a voice invaded his mind. No matter how many times he did it, he could never get used to psychic communication. _"It is on its way. It is only a matter of time now."_

"Good fates to you," he whispered to the empty car.

The time for waiting was quickly coming to an end.

* * * * *

The third dance began. Misty could see, over Ash's shoulder, Mrs. Ketchum and Brock dancing slowly. Pikachu was perched serenely on Brock's shoulder, evidently having decided to give her and Ash some room for the night. Misty smiled as she watched the little yellow pokémon. She had known it as long as she had known Ash, and valued Pikachu as a dear and trusted friend.

That had been one of the things that had first drawn her to Ash (besides the bike). Even in the beginning, when Pikachu had resented Ash's first attempts at training it, Ash had treated Pikachu not as a thing or something to control, but as a friend. It was the same with each pokémon Ash would capture in his years of journeying. Misty had never known that such a bond could exist between a trainer and his or her pokémon. If only everyone could learn what Ash had taught her.

"Penny for your thoughts," Ash whispered into her ear.

"I was just thinking how great a person you are."

"Funny, I was thinking the same about you."

Misty turned her head to look into his eyes. He had matured a lot over the last year. No longer was he the strong-headed, reckless boy she had first met. Now he was a strong-willed, kind and gentle person who just happened to be her fiancée. As she continued to stare into his shining eyes, Sabrina's words came back to her. "Ash, do you think everything will work out?"

Ash missed a step, but continued to dance. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just getting jittery. It's been a long day."

"I know what you mean. The match with Gary seems like ages ago. Really, it's only been five hours."

The two fell into silence once more, just content to be with each other. Misty, however, could not get Sabrina's words to leave her alone.__

_"You have a strong heart as well as a strong mind. Unfortunately at times what the heart tells you and what your mind tells you differ, and you are forced to choose. Remember to choose wisely."_

_"I don't think I really understand…"_

_"No, I don't suppose you do… But I trust you will when the time comes."_

Misty stopped dancing mid-step. Ash looked at her confusedly.__

_"But I trust you will when the time comes." _Not if… not if, but when! Was Sabrina trying to warn her? If so, warn her about what?

Misty ignored Ash's concerned looks.

It was at that moment that everything exploded…

* * * * *

Ash looked at Misty. He couldn't figure out the look in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She muttered something in reply, but he couldn't make it out.

Suddenly, without warning, the ornate dome ceiling above exploded downward in a deadly rain of masonry and glass. People yelled and screamed as they tried to find shelter from the falling projectiles.

Ash instinctively flung himself over Misty. She screamed in fear but was cut short as she hit the floor knocking the breath from her. Ash tried to cover her with his body in a vain attempt to protect her. Their eyes locked for a single moment that seemed to stretch on and on until the sounds around them seemed to fade away. And then the moment was gone and the crashing stone and screaming people filled all of his senses.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but in reality was only a matter of seconds, it was over. Still unsure what had happened, Ash simply lay there for a moment. Miraculously he and Misty appeared relatively unhurt. He stood and helped Misty shakily to her feet. Faint and pitiful cries began to echo around the ruined ballroom. Several others were getting to their feet, but to his growing horror, none were either Brock or his mother. Ash glanced around, his fear growing. There was no sign of Pikachu, either.

Suddenly a noise from above broke him from his search. What he saw froze him to the spot. Misty looked up as well, but he was so frightened he barely registered her scream.

Hovering just above the shattered dome, a creature was slowly descending. In all his years of traveling, Ash had never encountered anything so alien or fear inspiring. He could only watch as it silently continued its descent. At first its black form contained no shape, almost like it made of liquid darkness. Slowly, however, it began to take on shape. Wings sprouted, a head formed, and a tail and sharp talons emerged, but all the while its red eyes remained their fiery stare. Soon it floated only mere inches above the rubble that covered the dance floor. Ash's numbed mind took several seconds to realize it was staring at him.

With blinding speed it struck. Ash instantly felt a coldness within him. Everything went dark and when his vision returned it was filled with a red aurora. This too faded away and Ash found himself within a deep fog.  It was as if all his senses were being muffled. His mind slowed down. A fog seemed to encompass him. He could still make out that the ruined ballroom, but it seemed far away. Faintly he heard Misty's anguished scream. He tried to shout to her, but could no longer control his body. It was as if he was behind the wheel of a car but someone else was in control.__

_You are now mine…You are my link to this world. Know that you are the weapon by which it will be conquered._

Ash instinctively fought against the alien presence that was invading his mind. He was met by wave after wave of pain. He tried to scream at it to stop, but could not form the words. After what seemed like hours it subsided. The fog around him brightened in a series of flashes. As if watching through a window Ash saw Pikachu launch attack after attack toward him. With no ability to shout to Pikachu and tell it to run away, he could only watch helplessly. He felt the presence around him concentrate on the yellow pokémon only long enough to send a single attack. So concentrated on saving its friend, Pikachu did not even see the red beam before it was sent flying backward to land roughly on the floor.

Ash heard Misty's scream once more and felt the presence switch its focus to her. He desperately tried to fight back, only to awaken new levels of pain.

* * * * *

            Sabrina heard Misty's scream as Pikachu landed and did not stir. The attack had been so abrupt and horrible that even with her years of training she struggled to keep control. The creature seemingly had entered Ash and was now controlling him.

            She watched Misty took a step back from Ash. _Was it truly Ash anymore?_ Sabrina asked herself. His face was barely recognizable, so twisted with hatred it was. His eyes shone with the red of the demon that now controlled him. More frightening than that was the emotion turmoil within him. Although the creature's powerful presence was full of hatred and anger, Sabrina could still feel Ash's emotions bottled up deep within. _He is still there,_ she thought with horror.

            She felt Ash—no the creature—well its power for an attack. Concentrating, she sent up a wall of protection around the fear-struck Misty. Although the shield barely stood up against the incredible barrage, it performed its duty and Misty was unhurt.

            The creature turned to meet this new adversary, but before it could attack, Sabrina sent forth a bolt of psychic energy. Ironically, it was the first time she had used her powers offensively since Ash and his friends had arrived at her gym and freed her from the emotional prison she had placed herself in. 

            The attack had little effect other than convincing the creature that she was no threat. It returned its attention to Misty, who had yet to move or make a sound._ Why her? _ Sabrina asked herself. _Did it somehow know? How could it, though?_ _Maybe it wants to feed on her…_ Either way, she knew what she needed to do.

            Using the aid of her telekinetic powers, she raced to place herself between Misty and Ash. She concentrated and tried to teleport Misty and herself away, but for the first time in her life she felt her powers blocked. Somehow, the creature had placed a barrier around the area to prevent anyone from teleporting in or out. Sensing another attack, she raised another barrier. This time the shield cracked, but it managed to stay intact. _Another attack of that strength and we'll be finished._ She had to think of something. Then she got an idea. _Maybe…_ It was the only chance they had.

            The creature prepared a third attack. This time instead of placing a shield, she concentrated on the incoming psychic energy and absorbed it. She screamed as the power burned her inside and out. Finally, after several painful seconds, she released the energy back at its sender. Light bursts fill her eyesight and she felt her knees give way underneath her. Before she could hit the ground, however, the shockwave from her attack hit. She felt herself fly backward, hitting Misty. The two tumbled through the air, crashing painfully onto the ruined floor.

            Though her vision was dimming, she saw Ash begin to float in the air, his clothes singed, but otherwise seemingly unhurt. Slowly and deliberately, he left the ground as if he had jumped, but he continued upward, higher and higher until he floated through the gaping hole in the ceiling and into the night sky.

            She tried to move, but the pain was too great. Next to her Misty began to stir and uttered a gasp of pain. Sabrina turned her head to face the girl.

            "Why," Misty asked weakly, "Why did you protect me?" Her head fell as unconsciousness began to claim her.

            "Because you are the flower. You are our only hope," Sabrina replied as she felt herself fall into a more permanent sleep. Then slowly, the senses that she relied on since her birth… the senses for which she had forsaken everything else to perfect… began to fail her one by one. At the end only her mind remained. As the darkness claimed her, she thought of the destiny that she had just fulfilled. It was her path, she knew, but if only she could have done more.

(to be continued…)


	4. Chapter 4

            When Misty opened her eyes all she could see was bright white light. Instinctively she shut them only to meet with an equally intense red light. It was a dark, haunting red. The red that has shone from Ash's eyes, which only moments before had been the kind and gentle ones she had come to love.

            The events of the ballroom flashed before her in an endless whirl replaying itself over and over again. The explosion… the cries of the frightened and wounded… the black creature… Ash… Ash… Pikachu flying through the air… Sabrina protecting her… falling... _the flower?_

            She gasped for breath and sat up, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light. The only thing of which she could be sure was that she was lying in some kind of bed. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned but her eyes couldn't focus on who it was. For a moment the figured shimmered and then she saw Ash sitting next to her. He smiled and Misty could feel her heart well up in happiness. _Could it all have been a dream?_

            "Misty," Ash began.

            "Ash!" Any further words stuck in her throat.

            "Misty," Ash said again, but it wasn't Ash's voice. Misty couldn't break through the cloud of confusion around her. Finally her vision began to clear. Sitting next to her was Professor Oak.

            "I'm so glad you're awake," Prof. Oak said with a sigh of relief. "We need to go."

            "Go? Go where? Where am I? Where's Ash?" The endless questions she had flowed from her.

            "I don't have time to explain it all right now. I'm sorry, Misty, but you're going to have to trust me."

            "I don't understand. Tell me where Ash is."

            The professor sighed again, but this time it was definitely not one of relief. "He was taken by the creature that attacked the hotel."

            "Taken?" Misty very being seemed to grow cold. "Where did it take him?"

            "I don't know for sure. But we have to hurry if we're going to find him in time."

            A thought suddenly sent another sliver of ice down her spine. "What about Mrs. Ketchum and Brock and Pikachu? Are they ok? What about Togepi?"

            "Delia and Brock got hurt pretty bad, but the doctors assure me that they are going to be ok. They were taken to another hospital. Togepi, fortunately, was only shaken and is at the local pokémon center recharging." At that point his voice broke and Misty saw a tear run down his face. "Pikachu, it doesn't look like it will make it. He was taken to the Viridian Pokémon Center for emergency treatment."

            "No…"

            "Misty, I'm sorry. This may sound callous, but we have to go."

            "What are you talking about? Go where?"

            "We have to find Ash before it is too late. I know you have many questions, but please just trust me. I'll explain on the way."

            Prof. Oak had always been one of the few adults that she had trusted and at the moment she didn't really trust herself. If he said that there was a chance they could find Ash, she had no choice to follow him.

            "We have to hurry," the professor continued. "And quickly; if the doctors catch you out of bed…" He didn't have to finish. "I brought you a change of clothes. I didn't think you would want to go out in that."

            Misty looked down at the thin hospital gown that she was wearing. She tried to form a smile that the professor's little joke, but failed miserably. In fact, she felt closer than ever to tears.

            Prof. Oak handed her the clothes and then quietly left the room so as to give her some privacy. She stiffly got out of the bed and took stock of her injuries. She hissed with pain as she extended her left arm to untie the gown. The pain she felt in side was confirmed when she removed the gown to reveal a large set of bandages taped around her stomach.

            _I hope Brock and Mrs. Ketchum will be ok… _She tried not to think about what the professor has said about Pikachu. There was always hope, right?

            As quickly as her damaged body allowed, she put on the new clothes. The strangeness she had felt since waking up did not leave her. Even so, she walked over the door and gently knocked. The door slowly opened enough for her to slip through into the hallway.

The sudden barrage of noise made her dizzy. From the looks of it, many of the injured from the hotel had been taken here. Nurses and doctors run this way and that, trying to treat patients as fast as they could. Misty must have been one the first to brought here, explaining the private room.

If the professor had had any worries that they would be stopped, he needn't have. The hospital staff was too busy to bother with two people trying to leave the building and who apparently didn't need their aid.

* * * * *

            It would take some time to grow accustomed to its new body. It had been countless eons since it had last had a physical form.

            As it was, it still hadn't completely gained its strength back. The battle with the psychic had proven that. Soon, however, that would no longer be a concern. Once its link with this world was complete, nothing would be able to stop it.

            The human still continued to fight, but it was futile. It had already won that particular battle. Still, it was amusing to feel the waves of emotion emanating from the tiny presence within. Every creature in the world had emotions, but humans were the only ones that allowed themselves to be controlled by them. That was not to say that emotions did not have their place, but it had long since decided which were more important that others. It wallowed in its hatred of those who had imprisoned it so long before, and waited for the day in which it would feel the pleasure of looking down at their broken forms. It would be it finest hour and the world's darkest day.

            As it flew soundlessly through the night sky, it contemplated on what its next move would be. It had to admit that the psychic had weakened it more that it had originally thought, so it might do well to feed. Besides, it was time that the world was formally introduced to its new ruler.

            It lowered its altitude and was soon speeding within the canopy of the wide rolling forest. As it neared the ground it spied a trail worn into the ground by passing travelers in the moonlight. Trails always led somewhere, so it reasoned that its appetite would soon be sated.

            After several minutes it spotted a wooden sign nailed to an ancient oak. The words on it were expertly burned into the grain. It spent a moment to scour through the human's mind to find the ability to read it.

            "Pewter City – 2 miles."

            It felt a flare of emotion from the human. Perfect.

* * * * *

            The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and it gave each of the leaves that sped by the window a reddish glow. Misty could see her reflection in the car window overlaid on the passing wilderness beyond. Her hair was tangled and fell limply over face, but she made no effort to push it away.

            Could it be possible that only hours before she had been completely happy without a care in the world? Could such a world have existed?

            "Misty," the professor said in a gentle voice. She made no attempt to reply. "Misty, we need to talk."

            "What is there to talk about?" When the professor had taken her from the hospital on a quest, he had said, to save Ash, she felt as if a rope had been lowered down into the dark well she had found herself in. But even as the light above grew closer, she could feel that rope tearing.

            "I'm sorry," the professor as if to no one in particular.

            Misty turned away from the window and looked at the professor. For the first time she noticed just how old he looked. It had been almost six months since she had last seen him, but it looked as if he had age twenty years in that time.

            "You said we could find Ash?" she asked.

            He stared ahead and did not turn as he replied. "Yes, I did say that."

            "What was that thing? Do you have any idea?"

            "Oh yes, I have an idea. I know all too well."

            "How?"

            Before she could ask anything else, he interrupted her. "Misty, I'm going to tell you a story. It has based on everything I know about the creature that attacked the Indigo Hotel tonight and stole Ash away." He paused before continuing. "But before I begin, I must ask you to promise me not to interrupt until I am finished. Do you understand?"

            Confused, and even a bit frightened, but determined to save Ash, she agreed.

            The professor sighed loudly and long before speaking again.

            "A lot of what I am going to tell you will be hard to believe. It is part fantasy, part mythology, and part history, but all true in its own way.

            "Before the age of man, even before the age of pokémon, when the world was still new, the god pokémon ruled the world. All was well until a lone god decided that it wanted everything. Not satisfied with the role given to it, it slowly strengthened itself. When it felt the time had arrived, it waged war against the other gods in an attempt to rule the world alone.

            "Not much is known about this god pokémon; its original name has long since been lost. The only striking detail that we do know was its red eyes. Their crimson hue, they say, could drive one mad. A powerful psychic, it was strong enough to face the others alone, and in fact it almost won. After a devastating war that lasted hundreds of years, it finally succumbed to the combined powers of the other gods. It could be called the world's first demon; given a new name by the victors, the Redeyes.

            "What the other gods did not know, however, was that while the Redeyes had lost its body, its spirit still had a hold on the world of the living. With this, over an excruciatingly long time, it built its power within the spirit world, the realm of ghost pokémon.

            "In the world of the living, nothing was heard of the demon, and it was forgotten like so many of the old legends. Then fifty thousand years ago, as the age of pokémon was waning and the age of man was just beginning, the Redeyes returned. Having conserved its power for the eons since its defeat, it was able to manifest itself in our world once more. However, without a physical form, it could not make full use of its powers. So it went in search of a host to serve as a link between the worlds. It found what it was looking for in a Mew.

            "The god pokémon, having long since let petty differences separate them, were not able to mobilize in time. When they finally were able to mount a defense, the Redeyes had regained too much of its power. No matter how they fought, it was just too powerful, for now it could draw on the power from the worlds of the living and the dead.

            "Then, amidst the battle, a human seer appeared. At first the pokémon and their gods refused to listen, as they did not yet trust man. Even so, this seer said that he had seen a vision that had shown him the way to defeat the Redeyes. The spike from the Gaiasaur, the rare fourth generation of Bulbasaur, could neutralize the link the Redeyes held between the realms and destroy it and the Redeyes for good.

            "A human boy volunteered to take the spike and try to destroy the Redeyes. Humans and Pokemon joined together for the first time in a massive attack in an attempt to weaken the Redeyes. The plan almost worked. As the boy tried to stab the Redeyes, it killed him, but not before its host was mortally wounded. This weakened it greatly and Lugia was able to attack the Redeyes directly. Without its host, the Redeyes formed into what could only be described as a liquid darkness, which Lugia froze into a solid statue. Thus, it was unable to affect the world of the living and also could not reach the world of the dead to draw upon its power. It was effectively trapped forever, not dead and not alive.

            "The Redeyes was sealed away with the hope that its forced slumber would never be disturbed. The god pokémon returned to their realms, but the world would always bear the mark of this battle. The Mews, ever afraid that one of their kind would again be used in such a matter, fled, never to be seen again, falling into the realm of legend themselves. Humans and pokémon grew a mutual respect for one another, agreed to share the world

            "Years later, the same seer that had seen vision of the Redeye's defeat was laying on his deathbed. Just before he died, he recited one more prophecy, which was dictated by a witness. The prophecy was a warning of a time when the Redeyes would return once again to claim the world as its own. His prophecy was lost until a team of archeologists uncovered it three years ago. These are the words spoken by that seer so many years ago.

"A master will be born, the youngest to wear the crown. Upon the coronation, the Redeyes will be awakened to reclaim the world it lost. It will take the master, and its reign will begin anew. The sky will rain upon the world, and human and pokémon alike will fall. Forests will burn, seas will boil, and the world will end. However, amidst the horrors, a flower of water will bloom, wielding the thorn that will extinguish the redeyes, and free the world from its fate.

            Misty waited, but the professor had evidently finished his narrative. The entire time he had been talking, Misty has stayed quiet. Now she had so many questions she didn't know where to start.  Through the storm that was raging in her head, something kept tugging at her, but she couldn't place it. It was something from the prophecy the professor had recited. What had happened right before she had passed out in the hotel? The Redeyes—now she knew its name—had attacked her and then Sabrina had saved her. Just before her memories went blank, she remembered heard Sabrina saying something to her that at the time had made no sense, "_Because you are the flower._"

            "The flower," Misty whispered.

            "What was that, Misty?" the professor asked.

            "Before I passed out, Sabrina called me the flower. She said I was the only hope."

            "You are, Misty," he said quietly.

            "The prophecy? But that was written thousands of years ago, you said. How could it know about me?"

            "I know it's hard to understand."

            She tried to remember what the professor had recited. "_A master will be born, the youngest to wear the crown._" If the flower was supposed to represent her, the master was assuredly Ash. Then a sudden realization came to her. It made her sick to even think it, but how else could she explain everything that had happened since she had woken up in the hospital.

            "Professor," she began, but her throat tightened and she felt sick to her stomach.

            "Yes?" the professor asked, his voice revealing a twinge of apprehension, as if expecting her next words.

            As calmly as she could, she said, "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? It was no accident that you were there at the hospital to pick me up." Even after she said it, she didn't want to believe it. If only the professor would deny it, she would believe him, mostly because she wanted to. Anything would be better than the professor having something to do with what had happened to Ash and the others.

            But the professor said nothing. He just stared forward into the waning darkness.

            Misty could feel tears running down her face. She could hear herself crying, but it was as if she was watching it from afar. The shock just wouldn't let her comprehend it. Her tears felt hot on her skin and she could feel the anger building in her.

            Still the professor said nothing.

            Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, she released it all. "You knew! You knew and did nothing? How could you? How could you have done this to Ash?"

            "Misty, listen," the professor began, but she cut him off.

            "No, you listen, you bastard!" Even as angry as she was, her words shocked her, but she didn't stop. "Ash loved you! He looked up to you!  He saw you as the father he never got a chance to know!"

            Her last comment seemed to hit him physically. He recoiled away and slammed on the brakes. At first Misty though the wheels were going to skid, but then the car slowed. The professor pulled the car onto the shoulder and shifted into park. After several very long moments of silence, which Misty could not seem to break, he turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was damp with tears.

The sight startled Misty, but not enough to quell her rage. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" she shouted finally.

"I know what I did was wrong."

            "Wrong? Wrong doesn't even come close to what you did! You could have stopped this and you didn't! You said that prophecy had been found three years ago? When did you find it?"

            "Two years ago," he replied in a whisper.

            Again Misty was shocked into silence. For two years he had known?

            As if reading her mind, the professor said, "I first found it during my studies. At the time I didn't know it was talking about Ash. How could I? For all I knew the events it spoke of wouldn't occur for hundreds or even thousands of years."

            "But once the final match was set, you had to know there was a chance," she said. "Even if you didn't care about Ash, what about Gary? He could have won. He's your own Grandson."

            "You have to understand. Yes, I knew about the prophecy long before tonight. As soon as I knew that both Gary and Ash were entering the Masters' tournament, I knew there was a good chance one of them would come out the victor."

            "So you just sat back and waited to see which one would win?"

            "No!" he bellowed in a mixture of rage and anguish. "I'm not as cold hearted as you think! Believe me, regardless of who won between the two, the Redeyes poses a threat to the entire world. Ash is merely a means to an end for it, and that end it to regain power over the entire world. And it has no qualms of destroying everything to get it."

            Misty didn't know what to say; she could feel herself beginning to break down even more than before. "You could have told him. You should have at least warned him."

            "You have to understand."

            "Stop saying that! What is there to understand? You knew that Ash was walking right into the path of a creature bent on taking over the world. You let Ash become its tool in accomplishing that. You not only betrayed Ash in the worst way, you also sentence the world to the same fate!"

            "No Misty, that was far from my intention, and it still is. Just let me explain."

            Misty was about to interrupt him again, but stopped herself. Her life had been turned upside down and everything she thought she had known she was no longer sure about. More than anything, she needed a reason. She needed to know why one of the people in her life she trusted the most had betrayed everything she held dear. "Ok," she said after a moment, "have your say."

            "It wasn't until the final match at the Masters' Tournament was announced that I felt sure the prophecy was coming true. Although I doubt you will believe me now, I agonized for a long time over what to do. I wanted to go right over to Ash and Gary and tell them everything."

            "Why didn't you?" Misty asked.

            "You have to," he started but caught himself. "Prophecies don't tell the future, not exactly anyway. They tell of a possible future. They're like recipes. If certain events occur, a particular outcome will be reached. Most of the prophecies found today are not real, either hoaxes or the words of sick minds. The prophecy of the Redeyes is not one of those. It is very real. It states that the Redeyes will return, take a human host, and begin its fight for world domination once again. But it also says, that once these things happen, the flower will arrive and defeat it once and for all."

            "And you think I am that flower?"

            "I do."

            The professor continued on before she could say anything else. "The prophecy is saying that if all of the events come to fruition, the world will be saved."

            "Then why—" she started, but this time the professor cut her off.

            "We don't know why the Redeyes wanted Ash in particular. If it had just wanted a human host, it could have found one long before reaching the Indigo plateau. Its first host had been a Mew, and perhaps there is something about Ash that is compatible with the Redeyes. Ash has always had a strong will and has established strong bonds with both the people and pokémon he has met throughout his life." As if remembering what he had done to the boy he was describing, he paused and wiped the fresh tears from his eyes

            Misty took the opportunity. "Why not hide him away? If the Redeyes couldn't find its… couldn't find Ash, then it wouldn't have hurt anyone. Right?"

            "I thought of that, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't find another host instead. If it did that, then our recipe to destroy it would be worthless. I've spent the last year looking for the hidden location of the Redeyes' tomb. I thought that if I could keep it from being awakened, I could stop it all from happening entirely. But I knew if I failed in that, I couldn't stop anything else in the prophecy from occurring, the good and the bad.

            "Yesterday, an archeologist found the tomb and accidentally awoke the Redeyes. I knew at that moment there was no going back.

            "If I had hidden Ash away and the Redeyes found another to take, it would still would have been powerful enough to destroy everything and we would have no plan of fight against it. But as long as we stay within the confines of the prophecy, the world may yet be saved. Soon the Redeyes will regain the rest of its powers it lost during its imprisonment, and when that happens…" He didn't have to finish.

            Misty found herself unable to reply. What the professor had said possessed a grain of sense. That wasn't to say that she agreed with what he had done. For from it, she knew she would trust Samuel Oak ever again. But for the moment she had no other choice but follow him. He knew more about what had happened than seemingly anyone else.

            She remembered the time when Ash had been the Chosen One back in the Orange Islands. Now she knew what he had felt when the weight of the world had been literally placed upon his shoulders. But he had persevered and she knew she had to at least try to do the same. Besides, she couldn't change the past, and she needed to save Ash from the clutches of the demon that held him. Slowly the anger inside her was being replaced by something else, determination. "Professor," she said.

            "Yes?"

            "You say I'm the flower. We better get started."

            "Ok," he said in a sigh of notable relief. He shifted back in drive and pulled back onto the empty highway.

            Off to her left, she watched as the sun continued to rise into the sky.

* * * * *

            The small city of Pewter had been awakened from its slumber just as the sun was rising into the sky. Now the screams of its citizens filled the air. Local trainers had joined with passing travelers unfortunate enough to have spent the night in the sleepy town. Together, they had fought valiantly against the demonic creature wearing the visage of human boy. Now the broken bodies of pokémon and trainer alike filled the streets.

            Ash saw all of this, trapped inside his own mind like a prisoner. His body, no longer in his control, continued to move through the town, killing as it went. The fog that had first surrounded him was clearing, and the rest of his senses were returning as well. At first he had thought he getting some control back, but now it seemed he was trapped in what he could only describe as a glass enclosure. He could not directly feel the outside world, but it was as if his sense were be transmitted to him. It was like his consciousness had been given its own body that was trapped within this cage. He could walk around and even feel the walls around him.

            The one thing he couldn't do, however, was stop the images of outside from impacting his mind. In fact, he would have given anything just to have the ability to close his eyes. Ash had never seen someone die before, but now he had seen more people fall before this demon that held him than he most people would in their lifetime. The horrors were almost too much to bear.

            Just then, a young trainer, no older than 13, ran forward and released a pokéball. A pikachu materialized and attacked with a thundershock.

            The creature that controlled his body raised an arm. A bolt of red energy shot forward hitting the yellow pokémon mid-jump and sent it to the ground where it did not stir. The boy shouted in anger and his eyes shone with a stoic determination despite the peril around him.

            Suddenly, the creature flew forward and grabbed the boy, who instantly began to writhe in pain. Ash knew what was going to happen next, having seen it happen many times since he had arrived in Pewter.  The boy stopped moving and hung limply from Ash's outstretched hand.

            As it had happened before each time, screams began to echo around Ash's enclosure. It was the boy's screams. It was as if his spirit was crying out all around him. A sickening though came to Ash. What if that was what he had heard? Ash thought of the strengthening barrier around him. _It's feeding off them. Not just killing them, but stealing and perhaps even consuming their spirits._ Any previous hope of escape left him. Even if there had been a chance, soon it would be gone. As he thought, the barrier grew a little stronger.

            Finished with the boy, the creature let his body fall to the ground. Ash saw that his face was twisted in a grimace of horror. He found himself asking if it had been he that had been trapped in Pewter, would he have done something so brave. He would like to think so. Despite the dangers, he had faced challenges before. But he also knew that he had faced them because of the two people that had always been at his side. He knew that Misty and Brock would have been right beside him to face the unknown evil, knowing only that it was the right thing to do.

            Thoughts of his friends filled him. He hoped that they were all right. There had been no sign of his mother or Brock before the creature had captured him. He did know the creature had attacked Pikachu and could only hope that it had not fared the same as the boy's had only moments before. He also knew that it had attacked Misty, but she seemed to have been saved by someone else. Much of his memories of the attack were blurry and unclear.

            Ash knew that Brock would be devastated to hear of what atrocities were being committed in his hometown. Thankfully, Ash had not yet seen any sign of Brock's siblings or his father. Hopefully, they had been able to escape or at least were well hidden inside the family gym.

            As if on cue, Ash caught a glimpse of the gym through the smoke from a burning home. It looked untouched.

            Without warning a voice entered his mind. _"Are you enjoying yourself? When I last roamed this world, your kind were mere insects crawling around trying to survive from one day to the next. It seems they changed much during the intervening years between then and now. They think they have this marvelous gift they call progress. They must learn how insignificant they truly are. And so do you!"_

            Ash could feel the creature shift its attention toward the gym.

            "_Yes_," the voice said, "_this should be a valuable lesson_."

            The creature began to well its energy and then shot a powerful attack, larger than any of the previous ones, at the gym. The impact resulted in a fireball that consumed most of the front wall. Seconds later a resounding cracking sound resonated through the emptying streets, and the entire roof of the gym caved in, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

            "_I think I have fed enough for today_," the voice said cheerfully. "_Yes, I believe it's time to go home_."

            Ash could only stare at the devastation around him. The world was truly coming to an end, he realized.

(to be continued…)


	5. Chapter 5

            Misty was relieved when the professor slowed the car and pulled off the highway onto a dirt road. After they had resumed their journey, the professor had told her how he had been studying prophecies over the last several years and how he had recruited others in his pursuit. But soon he had run out of things to say and the two had lapsed back into silence. She still hated the professor for what he had done, but the silence drew along until she though she would go insane.

            The professor slowed the car and pulled up in front of a small one-story house. It looked well kept and Misty was somewhat confused why they were there.

            "We're here," the professor said. He opened his door and got out. He waited patiently as she stiffly stood up and closed the car door behind her. "Do you need some help?"

            "I'll be fine," she replied sharply.

            The professor only nodded and walked to the front door, noticeably slowing his pace so she could keep up. When she reached the door, he opened it and she followed him in. There, Misty found herself in what looked like an average living room, if only a bit sparse on furniture. A doorway on the right led to a kitchen and a hallway led toward the back of the house, several closed doors marking its sides.

            As soon as the professor closed the front the door, one of the doors in the hallway opened and a woman who looked to be in her forties walked toward them.

            "Where have you been?" Misty got the impression that she wasn't talking to her. "The hotel fiasco is all over the news! You should have called as soon as you retrieved the flower! I told you leaving her there was too big a risk."

            The professor held a hand in a "calm down" gesture. "Look here!" he said with an edge Misty had never heard him use before. "Misty has just been through the most traumatic night of her life. What she doesn't need right now is you shouting and upsetting her any more. I told you I might be late." He turned to her with a look of concern.

            Misty's first reaction was to tell him that she didn't need his help, but despite how she felt about him, she was grateful for his intervention, so she gave him a weak look of gratitude.

            He nodded and turned back to the woman. "Clarice, we have a lot to do and time is quickly running out."

            "Alright," Clarice replied, and started walking back to the door she had left. Misty wasn't sure if her change of attitude was because of the professor's words or that time really was running out. Seemingly for the thousandth time in the last several hours Misty found herself in the middle of something she didn't understand.

            "Come on, Misty," the professor said.

            Wordlessly she followed him to the door that Clarice had already reentered. The first thing Misty noticed upon walking in was the large wooden table in the center of the room. The room itself looked as if it might have been a dining room at some time, but now a large vid-screen dominated one wall tuned to the news coverage of the attack on the Indigo Plateau Hotel. Currently an overhead shot was being shown, presumably from a helicopter. Around the table were chairs, three occupied by men of various ages and descriptions, and one by Clarice who was just sitting down.

            One of the men turned toward them and said, "Thank God, you're here."

            "What are they saying?" the professor asked, nodding toward the vid-screen.

            "At the moment, basically a large powerful psychic-type pokémon of unknown origins attacked the Master Ceremony. Although reports vary, it seems that Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum was abducted by this pokémon. There are an undisclosed number of deaths and numerous injuries. With all the foreign dignitaries present, this is turning into an international incident."

            "They don't know how right they are," the oldest man muttered.

            "Yes," the professor said, "I guess so. Right now I would like you to introduce you to Misty Waterflower."

            Misty could feel them examining her. They were probably wondering if this young girl could really save the world. She knew she was thinking it. More than ever, she wished Ash could be there with her. She couldn't imagine doing everything herself.

            "Misty," the professor continued, "you've already met Clarice. They rest of our little band are Marshall, Patrick, and Jacob. They all have been helping me the last several years."

            Misty had to keep her anger in check. All of the people before her had had some part in everything that had happened in the last day. "Now that we all know each other," she said with a little more bite than she had originally intended," could someone explain to me what I'm supposed to do?"

            No one seemed willing to speak first the she continued, "Everyone keeps calling me the flower and saying that I'm the last hope of the world." She began to trail off. The whole situation still seemed so unreal to her.

            "You're right," the professor said. "Jacob, would you please go get the thorn and bring it here?"

            "Ok," Jacob said, and quickly stood up and left.

            Misty, despite herself, was amazed at the respect Professor Oak commanded from the others in the room. It was the same respect, she realized, that she had held for him until today.

            "As I told you in the car, in the previous attempt to destroy the Redeyes, a spike off the back of a Gaisaur was used. This fourth generation was very rare, only evolving when a Venusaur grew very old and then only under extreme circumstances. In fact, there have been no recorded instances of a Gaisaur in over 30,000 years."

            Jacob returned, carrying a highly polished wooden box.

            "Thank you, Jacob." The professor took the box and set it down on the table before returning his attention to Misty. "However, there are two known spikes remaining today. One is on exhibit at the Museum in London, England, and the other is right here." With that, he opened the box. It's dark wood contrasted sharply with the plush red interior. Resting upon this soft material was something unlike anything Misty had ever seen before.

The spike, as the professor had described it, was about a foot long and was a pale cream color with swirls of blue, green, and red following its length. It was about two inches thick at its base and narrowed into an incredibly sharp looking point. Although it must have been thousands of years old, it showed no signs of wear.

Misty was fascinated by it, both beautiful and dangerous. She couldn't imagine a creature with such an armament. Mesmerized, she reached for it, but the professor grabbed her wrist to stop her. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Do not touch it without gloves. It is very dangerous to handle it any other way. The world in which the Gaisaur lived was very different from today. Pokémon did not battle for championships or badges. They lived in the open wilderness battling for survival against many dangerous creatures that have since gone extinct."

"What does it do?" she asked. "How will this stop the creature that has Ash? Will it really be able to save Ash?" Instantly, she noticed a distinct display of discomfort from the others in the room. _What did I say?_ she asked herself.

The older man, whom the professor had addressed as Marshall, spoke. "The Redeyes exists in this world because of the link that it forged during its first defeat back in the time of legend.  It had strengthened that link by fusing itself with a living being. However, much of its power remains in the world of spirits. This has been its greatest strength. Even if it is defeated here in this world, it is able to escape back to the spirit world where it cannot be harmed. Additionally, the link would remain and allow it to return once its power had been restored, as it just has.

"To completely destroy the Redeyes, its link between the two worlds must be destroyed. That is where the Gaisaur comes into play. It, as I assume Samuel has told you, is the fourth generation of the Bulbasaur, a grass type, which has natural strengths against water, rock, and ground. But the Gaisaur, as with many highly evolved species, developed an additional strength, against ghost pokémon.

"As Samuel stated, the world of the Gaisaur was much harsher than our own. Their attacks and defenses weren't meant to incapacitate an enemy, but to kill it. The spikes on a Gaisaurs' back are the only objects known to be able to break the barrier between the world of the living and that of the dead and destroy ghost type pokémon. In short, it is able to 'kill' spirits. While we are not certain whether it would actually kill the spirit portion of the Redeyes, it would most certainly break the link it holds between the worlds and trap it here in the living.

To Misty it sounded almost too easy, even though she knew getting an opportunity to strike at the Redeyes would be an almost impossible task in and out itself. "But, wouldn't it still have its power from this world? I mean, what's to stop it from making another link like it did before?"

The professor stepped forward as if to speak, but Marshall continued before he could. "The spike was not only to defend the Gaisaur from ghost pokémon, but from living ones as well. Part of the spike's makeup includes a strong neurotoxin, capable of killing most creatures in seconds. Therefore the Redeyes would be destroyed long before it was capable of reestablishing its link, symbolically cutting off both it heads at one time."

            A sudden coldness came over Misty. A horrible thought invaded her mind. She realized their earlier discomfort when she had mentioned Ash and the professor's aborted attempt to stop Marshall from continuing his narrative.

            The room seemed to spin around her and she could hear her heart pounding in her head. She now knew what the flower was supposed to do, what they wanted her to do. She wasn't to save Ash, she was to kill him. Her brain seemed to stop functioning, unable to comprehend such an act. How could they expect her to kill Ash? How could they even ask a thing like that? Who were these people?

            She spun around to face the professor. She could tell by his face that he knew that she now knew. Her earlier sense of betrayal was overshadowed by such a degree that she couldn't even begin to form words. She only stared at the man who at one time she could have called her second father. Her insides crawled with a mixture of disgust and hatred. She tried to shout at him, but the only noise that left her mouth was a strangled sob that sounded more like a moan.

            She did the only thing that she could do, run. She ran as fast as her injured side would allow her. As she ran out the door and into the hallway, she thought she heard the professor shout her name, but wasn't sure. Frankly, she didn't care. What right did he have to ask her to stop? He had done nothing but lie to her from the beginning. She reached the living room and gasped in pain as she felt some of the bandages around her stomach tear. She didn't slow however, and, after struggling with the handle of the front door, ran out of the infernal house, long before realizing she had no idea where she was.

* * * * *

            Samuel watched Misty run out of the room. He turned back to Marshall.

            "I see that she didn't know the full extent of her involvement in our little endeavor."

            "No," Samuel replied softy. _Damn it, Marshall_, he though. _I wanted to tell her gently. _But how do you gently tell someone that they have to kill their best friend?

            Jacob and Patrick made as if to get up, but he motioned to them to stop. "Let her be. She needs some time by herself." The sound of the front door slamming carried into the room.

            "But," Patrick began.

            "There's no where she can go." _I made sure of that, didn't I? _he said to himself in disgust.

            "Will she do it?" Patrick asked.

            "I've known her for five years, she'll do it." He sighed. "We've done some terrible things to that young girl. No matter what else happens, we have to remember that."

            "Even so," Marshall said, "we don't have much time.

            "I know that," Samuel replied gruffly.

            "You better take a look at this," Jacob said suddenly. He was staring at the vid-screen. The news had returned to the studio with a grim-looking anchorman reading a report. Even though there was no sound, the caption at the bottom of the screen said it all, "Pewter City Under Attack."

            "Sound," Samuel shouted, but Jacob was already grabbing for the remote.

            "—communication  with the local police department was cut off moments later. Residents from the surrounding area report the presence of numerous fires and smoke rising above the small community. There is no word if this is in any way related to the attack on the Indigo Plateau Hotel late last night during the Master's Ceremony."

            Someone off-screen handed the anchor a paper. He paused from his commentary to quickly read over its contents. "Uh," he stuttered. "In a INN exclusive, we have a resident of Pewter City on a cellular phone. We take you to her, live."

            The studio was replaced by a graphic map showing the area around Pewter City. "Ms. Keller," the anchor said, "could you describe to our viewers what happened in Pewter City?"

            The audio feed was suddenly filled with some background static and the distance noise of people shouting. "I don't how it began," said Ms. Keller in a voice that sounded like someone in their sixties or seventies. "All I know is I woke up about three hours ago and there were sounds like explosions and everyone was running through the streets screaming. I didn't know what to think, but my son, Jasper, told me that something was attacking the town. He said that some of the local trainers were getting together to try and fight it off. I told him to stay, but he said he had to help. That's just like my son, running out and helping other people." Here her voice began to crack with emotion. "He hasn't come back. That's one of the reasons I called, so if he heard this, he would come back. Jasper! If you hear me, you're mother's worried sick!"

            The anchor gave the woman time to collect herself before asking his next question. "What is happening now, Ms. Keller?

            "I don't hear anymore fighting, but I'm too scare to leave my house. What if Jasper came back and saw that I was gone?"

            "Did you see what it was that was attacking the town? Was it a pokémon?"

            "Yes sir, I saw it. Won't forget that sight for the rest of my day, let me tell you. But it wasn't no pokémon, it was a boy."

            "A boy," the anchor repeated, noticeably shaken.

            "It was terrible. Like he was possessed by a devil. He just walked around making no sound. He walked right by my window. His eyes! God, they were awful! All red!" She began to get hysterical and her heavy breathing could be heard over the interference. "Those eyes will haunt me." She paused to catch her breath. "He grabbed this boy, couldn't have been older than my grandson… The boy screamed and I thought my heart was going to burst, but there wasn't anything I could do. I would have if I could have, I promise you. Then the boy went still and the… thing… just dropped onto the ground and moved on.

            "He kept on walking toward the gym and then stopped. Then something shot out of his hands. It looked like a solarbeam, only red. Whatever it was, it hit the gym and there was this God-awful explosion, and went the dust cleared, the place had collapsed. It was a good family that lived there. I only hope they got out before the thing went."

            There was silence during which the newscaster seemingly forgot that was supposed to be asking questions. "Did you recognize the boy? Was he a local resident?"

            "No, he wasn't a local boy, but I did recognize him. I saw him on the television last night. The news said he won the Masters' Tournament yesterday. He looked so nice in his suit," Ms. Keller trailed off.

            "Are you saying that the boy you saw attacking Pewter was Ash Ketchum?!"

            "Yes. My eyes may not be as good as they used to be, but I'll never forget that face. I don't think he was in control of himself, if that makes sense." A noise carried over the phone that sounded like a slamming door. "Jasper? Jasper, is that you?" the woman asked, obviously no longer talking into the phone. "Thank heavens, I was worried sick. You're hurt! What happened?"

            There was a click and the women's voice along with the static was gone. The anchorman reappeared onto the screen. "You heard it here first," he said softly and without much conviction. "According to an eyewitness within Pewter City, Ash Ketchum, kidnapped from the Indigo Plateau Hotel last night, was seen in connection with the attack on that city that occurred just over three hours ago."

            Marshall grabbed the remote and muted the screen. "We're out of time," he said, turning to Samuel. "She has to do what she was destined to do."

            "I know," he replied. _Only a few hours ago, you didn't even believe this was going to happen._ "I'll go find her."

            Samuel left the room and headed toward the front of the house. Once outside he began shouting Misty's name. He knew it might scare her further away, but there wasn't time for anything else. He only hoped that she hadn't run too far. He was beginning to second guess his decision to let her leave.

            He couldn't blame her for running. What he and others were asking her to do was despicable. Did he even have the right to ask her?

            There was muffled sob to his right and he turned toward it. Sitting in the passenger seat of his car was Misty. Tears running down her face, she looked in that instant like the innocent girl she had been before he had begun meddling with her life. As he watched her, he wondered whether this was how everything was supposed to happen. Had he just stood back and allowed events to play out naturally, would so much sorrow have been placed on her and Ash's young shoulders? Or was his involvement part of the prophecy? Could he simply use the excuse he had been destined to interfere?

            He silently walked over to the car. She didn't even notice his approach until he opened the driver's door. She jumped at the sound and tried to open her door and escape. He gently, but firmly put his hand on her shoulder to keep her in the seat. She fought against him amidst her sobs, but he held on and clumsily got into the car and closed the door.

            Evidently resigning herself to his presence, she stopped fighting his and he let go of her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he handed her. She gave him an icy look, but accepted it. Reaching back into his pocket he grabbed a small folded envelope.

            "I'm sorry, Misty, I forgot to give this to you. It's your things the hospital removed when they admitted you." Even as he said this, his words seemed so hollow.

            Misty held the envelope gently before opening it. Without a word, she poured the contents into her left hand. It consisted mostly of jewelry. He picked out a gold necklace with a horsea pendent, and managed to get it clasped around her neck. She put on the bracelets and that left a ring. This she just looked at, fresh tears running down her face. The amberrite gem glittered in the sunlight beaming through the windshield.

It took Samuel several seconds to realize its significance. "Oh God," he whispered. Misty tensed at the sound of his voice. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and his knee hit something that jingled. He looked down and saw that the keys were still in the ignition. He pulled them out and turned to Misty.

Anticipating his question, she said softly, "We never learned to drive. We wanted to do it together, but there never seemed to be time. Besides, we liked to walk. It was what first brought us together, after all."

Samuel couldn't think of any way to reply. _She is just a child_, he thought. But soon the urgency of the situation overcame him. "Misty," he began.

"You want me to kill Ash, don't you?" she said flatly.

"There's no other way."

"Is that what your precious prophecy told you?"

"No! Misty, I have been looking for another way to save Ash, but there isn't any. We have to destroy the Redeyes, and the only one to do that is the flower. And we both know that is you?"

"But how do you know? How are you so certain it's me?"

"Who else could it be?" he said, hoping she would accept his word. Silently he added, _Misty, just believe me that you are they only one that could do what must be done_.

"I don't know," she said softly.

"Misty, I wish we had more time to try to find someway else, but we simply don't have it." He took a deep breath. "Something else has happened."

"What?"

"Pewter City was attacked several hours ago. It was the Redeyes. It has possessed Ash like the prophecy said it would and is now using his body."

"Ash," she whispered. Suddenly she jerked up. "Brock! The gym! Was there any word if they gym was hurt?"

He sighed and nodded. "The news said that it was destroyed during the attack. There's no word on Brock's family."

"No."

"Now you see why I have done what I have? Pewter will only be the first. The Redeyes won't stop until it has subjugated the entire planet."

"So," Misty said bitterly, "anyone else that dies will be on my conscious? Is that it, professor?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Yes it is."

Samuel knew he wasn't going to win this argument, so he tried to change the subject. "Misty, I want to ask you for something."

"That's what you're good at, asking for things."

"Just hear me out." He sighed. "It may have been a coincidence that the Redeyes chose to attack Pewter first. But it might not have been. The Redeyes was a powerful psychic and most likely has all of Ash's memories. What I'm trying to say is that your sisters might be in danger."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want your permission to send someone to pick up your sisters and get them out of Cerulean, at least until we are sure they aren't in danger. I would have done it as soon as I heard about Pewter, but I think I have done enough things without asking first. I know it won't even come close to making up for what I've done, but if there's any chance of building your trust back…" He trailed off, not sure how to continue. He couldn't read her face, but she was no longer crying.

"Thank you," she said finally. "I would appreciate that."

"I know I can never make amends for what I did to you and Ash."

"You're right about that," she said coldly, but then her voice softened. "I suppose you need an answer?"

"Yes."

"Before you came out here, I had decided to do it." She paused. "And now, I know I made the right choice."

"Misty," he started.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm not doing it for me, either. I'm doing it for Ash. I can't believe there is nothing can be done to save him. He's still alive in there, I know it. If the Redeyes really did attack Pewter to hurt Ash, then that means that Ash is still there. Why else would it have done that? You may have given up on Ash, but I haven't. I know he would never give up on me, and I'm sure won't give up on him."

"I would say that there wasn't any hope, but when you two are concerned, the impossible seems to find a way of becoming possible."

Misty seemed to be lost in thought. He knew it wasn't fair that a sixteen year old would have to consider her own mortality.

"I have a question for you, professor."

"Just ask, Misty. I owe you any answers that I can give."

"Why didn't you ask him? You know that Ash would have offered to help you. He would have willingly gone through all this if he thought it would save people."

"Yes, I know that Misty. Even when he was small, he has always had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I have had the pleasure of meeting."

"Then, why didn't you just ask him?"

"You see, Misty. I wasn't afraid he would say no. I was afraid he would say yes."

Misty said nothing.

"He was the best type of person."

"Yes he _is_, professor. Yes he is."

Samuel could feel tears forming in his eyes. "Why don't you go inside and clean yourself up a bit. You should let Clarice look at your bandages. You know, you really shouldn't even be out of the hospital."

"I think that's the least of my worries."

"Perhaps, but I would like you to let her examine you. Don't worry, despite her outward appearance, she doesn't bite. Not often anyway."

He was rewarded by a forced smile, but he saw the slightest genuineness. She opened the car door, stood up, and looked back at him.

"I'll be in a minute. I just want to think about some things." She nodded and walked to the house. He watched her until she closed the door behind her.

"Could she be right?" he asked out loud. Could it be that after years surrounded by prophecy and lore, that he had blinded himself to other possibilities? Could it be that this could end happily after all? "No, it's too late for that. And that's my fault."

He had told the truth when he said he had been afraid of Ash's answer. Just like he was afraid now. Perhaps that's why he was making the same mistakes again.

(to be continued…)


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** As Chapter 7 is mostly an epilogue, I have decided to post the last two chapters today. I really hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review it. Hopefully soon, I will be starting my next story.

Misty watched the car drive away, bouncing along the uneven dirt road. After a minute or so, it was out of view. The professor had offered to send someone with her, but she had refused. Whatever happened next, she had to do it alone. She still didn't trust him. The only people she trusted anymore were either in the hospital or… _No, Ash wasn't dead_, she told herself. She wasn't going to give up on him.

After she and the professor had returned to the house, preparations were quickly begun to stop the Redeyes. It turned out that the professor and the others had a good idea where the Redeyes would go to rest. It was the same place it had used during its last reign in the world of the living. Even if it hadn't arrived yet, it would be going there soon, they assured her.

The next several hours were a blur and frankly, Misty didn't remember much of it. Everything caught up with her and even though she thought it impossible, she had slept most of the way from the house to wherever she was now. According to the map she had been given, she was deep in the wilderness somewhere near Mt. Moon, but further north along the chain of mountains the crossed the entire Kanto region.

As the professor's car disappeared from view, she began to feel completely alone. Although she had faced dangerous situations before, and at an even younger age than she was now, she knew that she had never been in more danger than she was now. She also knew the stakes had never been higher.

She started walking toward the mountain in the distance. According to what she had been told, the place she was looking for was inside the mountain. How she would recognize it she didn't know, but somehow she knew she was going in the right direction.

_Last time the Redeyes battled for control of the world, it had taken all of the pokémon gods fighting together to defeat it. What do you think you'll be able to do?_ a small voice in her mind said. It was the same voice that had been bothering her since she had agreed to try and save Ash.

Honestly, she didn't know what she would do when she reached the ruins. Would she be able to kill Ash if she had to? Even if it meant saving the world? She knew what Ash would want her to do. Even if at times he could be egotistical, when it counted, he was one of the most selfless people she knew. It wouldn't have to come to that, she told herself. She would find a way to save Ash, there were no other options.

She paused to shift her backpack off her still tender right shoulder. The pack was filled to the brim with supplies and was slowing her down, but as she didn't know what would be facing, she was thankful for everything she had.

After about twenty minutes of walking, the trees thinned and she came upon a rock face that formed the base of the mountain. Here and there, she saw evidence of an ancient structure. There was an oddly shaped stone that could have been part of a column sticking out of the ground. Closer to the tree line another column lay on its side.

The feeling of dread inside only grew as she followed the rock face. The forest was silent, as if all the creatures that dwelled there were too frightened to make their presence known. Several minutes passed and then she reached a place where the mountainside looked as if it had exploded outward. Pieces of stone littered the ground and in some cases were embedded in the trees.

Inside the hole was complete darkness. Reaching with her left hand, she grabbed the flashlight that was attached to the outside of the backpack. Shining its beam into the darkness, she saw that the hole continued into the mountain where it intersected with what looked like an existing, man—or pokémon—made passageway.

Misty took a deep breath, gave one last glance at the friendly sky above, and entered the darkness. She had to crouch down to get through the makeshift opening before reaching the passageway beyond. Made of stone blocks, the passage made its way deep into the mountain, further than the light of her flashlight could penetrate. Taking several steps forward, her footsteps echoing dangerously loud, she made her way further into the darkness.

Moving as slowly as her nerves would allow, she followed the hallway until, after several minutes of nothing but stone blocks, she could make out the haze of light in front of her. She knelt down and gingerly slid the backpack off, but not carefully enough to keep her right shoulder from flaring in pain. She clenched her teeth and bit back the pain.

She unzipped the pack and pulled out the wooden box. Reaching into the front flap, she grabbed the leather gloves the professor had given her and placed them on. Only then did she actually open the box. The Gaisaur spike lay on its cushion and even in the dim illumination of the flashlight, its beauty still mesmerized her for several moments.

Finally, Misty tore her gaze from the spike and looked back toward the distant light. A quickly as possible she returned the box back into the pack and shrugged it back on.

As she neared it, Misty realized that the light had an orange hue to it and flickered randomly, generating odd shadows on the stone walls. The closer she came to the end of the passageway, the brighter the room beyond seemed to become. Finally, she peered out into the light. The room was large, roughly the size of the poolroom in the gym back in Cerulean City. Large torches dispersed around the room made it seemed like the daylight outside.

The chamber has definitely seen better days. The stone blocks that formed the walls and ceiling had, in some places, shifted over time, and in others had completely come loose, crashing into the floor below. The size of these blocks, most of which were four feet to a side, boggled Misty's mind. She continued to examine the room, and then she saw something that made her gasp.

Propped in a sitting position against the far wall was Ash. He looked to be sleeping, but the distance was so far, she couldn't be sure. He was no longer wearing his tux, she saw, and instead wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

She had to reach him, she decided. Quietly, she crept through the room, using various piles of rubble as shelter. She stopped behind a large stone block about eight feet in front of Ash. The whole time it had taken her to traverse the chamber, Ash had made no movement or showed any sign that he knew she was there. She glanced around the block and with a sigh of relief saw his chest rise and fall several times.

Misty could feel tears forming in her eyes and slowly run down her cheeks. When she had first woken up in the hospital and heard the professor tell of what had happened, she had feared she would never see Ash again. Now, he lay only feet away, but in her heart, she felt further from him than ever.

_That's not Ash!_ the voice shouted. _That's only the demon that is using his body to destroy the world_._ It's what took Ash from you in the first place. It's the creature that killed all the people in Pewter and at the hotel. You have to kill it before it can hurt anyone else!_

She felt a tear drop from her chin and hit her hand. In her hand was the weapon that could deliver the world from this evil. The spike was pale and beautiful, yet so deadly. She looked back at Ash, his face seemingly peaceful.

_You have to! This is your only chance!_

_No!_ she shouted back. _Ash might be dead, but he could still be in there. And if he is, then there is a chance he could be saved. I'm not going to kill him before giving him a chance!_

Winning her internal battle, she stood up, spike in hand. She shrugged off the pack once more and left it on the ground. Before she could lose her nerve she stepped out from behind the stone block and moved toward Ash.

* * * * *

It watched her. It had sensed her approach as soon as she had neared the mountain. At first it had assumed she was just traveling through, but then to its surprise, she had not only entered its domain, she had made her way straight toward it. It could have dispatched her easily, but it found its curiosity getting the better of it. Why had this human girl entered here seemingly defenseless?

It had searched her mind as far as it could without alerting her that it knew she was there. Her mind had been filled with a flurry of emotions but now as she approached it closer, there was only one emotion within her, determination.

Not having to open its physical eyes to see her, it tried to determine her purpose. The only item it could not identify was the object in her hand. It looked like some sort of sharp rock, but at the same time strangely familiar. It could not remember from where, however, and continued to watch her.

* * * * *

Ash woke up screaming, the images of Pewter City still fresh in his mind. He had never seen such horrors as those that continued to haunt him. Forced to watch every horrible moment, his mind had finally just shut down and mercifully he lost consciousness. 

The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in Pewter, but he had no idea where he was now. He could sense that his body was asleep and his eyes closed, but he had learned that he no longer had to rely on his body's senses alone. The link that existed between he and the creature worked both ways. Just as it could control his body and probe his mind, he could use its psychic senses to see the outside world.

He appeared to be a strange room made of stone. Rubble lay here and there within it. The place looked very old and just short of being in ruin.

His surroundings faded away, however, when he saw the figure slowly walking toward him. Misty! At first a feeling of joy flowed through him. She had escaped the terrors at the hotel. But then he became confused. Why was she here? Where was he really? For a moment he thought that perhaps this was all a trick the creature was somehow creating to torment him. The more he stared at her, though, the more he became convinced that she was real and no illusion.

Fear enveloped him. He had to warn her. Didn't she know the danger she was in? The creature that controlled his body would not think twice about killing her, just as it had done to the people in Pewter City.

He tried to shout to her, and even though his voice echoed around his enclosure, his body remained still. All the while, Misty continued to inch closer.

* * * * *

It felt its human host's mind stir, but it ignored him as it continued to watch the girl approach. The host stirred again, this time more forcibly. His emotions were erratic. It could hear him mentally shout, "Misty!"

Misty, was that the girl's name? It sounded familiar as well. Then it remembered. This girl had been the one the psychic had protected. Those actions had confused it at the time and still did. As it probed both minds, it found a link between the two. These humans had been close, lovers in fact. _Now that is interesting_, it thought. It would have to thank the psychic for preventing it from killing this girl and wasting such a valuable toy.

The next few moments would be interesting indeed. Perhaps it was its host rubbing off on it, but it was beginning to enjoy these emotions.

* * * * *

Ash felt the creature focus on Misty. It knows, he realized. It knows and now it was going to kill her. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life, even back in Pewter. Before him, only several feet away, was the person most important to him. And as he watched, he knew, she would be taken from him forever.

"Misty!" he shouted, again with no result.

He had to do something. He had to at least try. He ran straight toward the solid clear wall, shoulder first. The impact numbed his arm completely and knocked the breath from him. He fell back, the shock of the pain overwhelming him, but he was back on his feet, preparing to do it again.

Unlike before when he tried to break free, this time he had felt the slightest shift in his prison. That was Misty out there, he told himself, and he was not going to give up without a fight.

* * * * *

Ash stirred and Misty stopped. _Is he waking up? If he was, who would he be? His eyes slowly opened, revealed not the red horrors she had seen at the hotel, but the chestnut brown eyes that she had fallen in love with._

"Ash?" she whispered.

He stirred again and looked at her. "Misty?" he asked in a scratchy voice.

"Yes Ash, it's me."

"Where am I?"

"You're in a chamber inside a mountain. It's so hard to explain. The creature…"

"It took control of me!" he shouted, struggling to get up, but slipping.

"I know, Ash," she said, trying to help him back into a sitting position with her left hand. She reached to hug him, losing control of her emotions, but he shrugged her off and instead stared at the spike still in her right hand.

"What a pretty toy you have there, Misty," he said, only now his voice was full of anger and spite. It was so twisted that she could scarcely believe it had come out of Ash's mouth.

She stumbled backwards as she continued to stare at him in horror. His eyes began to fill with a red mist until they shone with the crimson hue like before.

"Welcome to my home, Misty," it said in that cruel voice.

_Ash is dead! the voice inside shouted. __And now you have wasted the only chance you had. You have failed and the world will be destroyed because of you._

_No! she shouted back again. __I will not give up. __Even if Ash is gone, I will not fail in what I have to do. She stared at Ash, his face contorted in a grimace of hatred. _I'm sorry Ash.__

No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew that Ash was gone. Only this evil demon remained. She stood up, raised the spike before her, and prepared to attack and end it all, one way or the other.

* * * * *

Ash threw himself against the clear wall again. His phantom body ached, but he didn't stop. Each time, the give in the wall seemed to increase, if only by a very small amount. Another impact with the wall and he fell to the floor. Hope flared past the pain as he felt the wall give some more, and he once again got back up. Again he hit the wall, and this time he felt a crack. He looked and indeed a small fissure had appeared.

He risked another look at Misty. _She must know by now_, he thought. He had felt his body awake and move toward her. Why didn't she just run away? _Misty, just get out of here while you can!_

He rammed the wall again, spurred on by his fear for Misty. This time the crack widened. _Just a little more_, he thought desperately. Before, he had thought escape impossible, but now he wasn't so sure.

* * * * *

It watched her attempts to escape. No, it realized, she wasn't trying to get away. What did she think she could accomplish?

It could feel the mind of its host continue to fight to regain control. Suddenly, it could feel it power faltering. _His will is indeed strong_. But that was why it had chosen him. That didn't mean, thought, that it would allow such insolence. It would have to subjugate that will for good, and the answer was right in front of it. What better way to gain the extra energy it needed than to use his lover's essence to entrap him forever? The irony delighted it.

It returned its attention to the girl. Again, the pearl colored spike she held seemed familiar. It tugged at its memory until it finally remembered.

It had been during the last great battle of its previous attempt to gain its rightful control over this world. Just before the other pokémon gods had forced it into a fifty millennia slumber, a boy had entered its domain. It had felt the same mixture of determination and purpose in him that it felt from the girl now. The link, it realized, was that they both had known that they could win. Somehow, the girl, like the boy before her, had a way to destroy it.

It must be the spike. Whatever it was, it must be a threat to it. _Well_, it decided,_ if that is the case, then these games will end_. It would not allow itself to be stopped now. The girl's life would very soon be coming to an end, and after it had accomplished that task, it would forever destroy its host's will to continue fighting. This time it had won. These two humans just hadn't realized that yet.

Now it knew their weapon. Once it disposed of the girl and this artifact, it would search the world until any like it were similarly destroyed. The future was now in its control.

* * * * *

Ash looked distracted. Misty decided this would be the best opportunity she would get. She raised the spike to bring it down, but at that very moment, he turned to her and struck out with his fist. He connected in her already tender side, sending her backwards to the ground. Her ribs, which before had felt sore, now felt as if they had been shattered.

Ash stalked toward her, his red eyes shining with the same hatred that filled his face. She made several feeble attempts to move back but soon she felt the stone block behind her. She knew she was trapped. The spike was still in her hand, but she knew it was too late. _I'm going to die_, she thought.

* * * * *

The pain threatened to force his mind to shut down, but Ash willed himself to stay conscious. The crack was widening, but it was growing too slowly. If he didn't hurry, he would be too late.

The events outside played before him impossibly slow as if he was stuck in some kind of twisted slow motion horror flick. _It's afraid of her!_ The feelings he was receiving from the creature didn't make sense.

He saw himself strike Misty and heard her cry out in pain. He screamed himself and ran even harder at the wall. This time he felt his shoulder sink into it and he fell to the ground. When he regained his feet he saw that a small area of the wall around the original crack had caved through to the ether beyond.

The hole was small but it was large enough to fit his entire arm into it. He felt nothing on the other side, but suddenly his sense began to return to him. He felt the stone beneath his feet and he could faintly taste the stale air around him.

* * * * * 

Ash continued to approach her. No, not Ash, but the creature the professor had called the Redeyes. It was a creature that had killed countless people and pokémon over the eons that it had existed. It lived for only one goal, and that was to control the world as it saw fit.

Misty struggled to her feet, determined that what ever happened next, she would not end this on her knees. Just before it reached her, it stumbled. _Now!_ the voice screamed at her. She raised the spike and was about to strike when suddenly the red vanished from Ash's eyes and he fell limply to the ground.

_It's a trick!_

_Why would it try to trick me now? She tried to reason with the infernal voice. __It could have killed me so easily._

"Misty," Ash said softly, still sprawled across the stone floor.

"Ash? Is it really you?" she asked, kneeling beside him. With her free hand she rolled him over and cradled his head in her lap. His face was pale and scratched from hitting the ground.

"Yeah. I don't know how long I will be able to keep it back."

Absent-mindedly she stroked his hair, which was damp with perspiration. "We'll be ok."

Ash struggled out of her lap and into a sitting position. "No Misty! You have to get away from here. Once it takes me back, it'll kill you. It wants to, I can feel its thoughts. You scare it for some reason."

"Ash…" she began. Misty looked down at the spike. She knew he was right. No matter what happened, he would sooner or later lose control. And when that happened, it would win. "Ash, I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied. Suddenly, he made a strangled choking sound and screamed. "Misty!"

She jumped to her feet and took a step back. His eyes again filled with crimson hatred. Too shocked to make another move, she could only watch Ash undergo the transformation as the Redeyes regained control. She almost swore she saw it smile, and then something flashed.

The pain hit a second later. Instinctively she clutched her stomach with her left hand and felt something warm flow over her fingers. The second wave of pain washed over her with the ferocity of a tsunami, and she could feel herself going into shock. Her legs failed her and she fell backwards, hitting the stone block, which propped her into a sitting position.

She looked down and saw the front of her shirt was being quickly stained red. _My blood, she thought numbly. Her eyes began to lose focus. She coughed and pain shot through her entire body. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth._

She felt the spike fall from her hand and ring off the floor below. _I've failed, she thought. __I failed Ash, I failed Brock, I failed my sisters and Togepi, and I even failed the professor._

* * * * *

Ash found himself back in his prison. "No!" he shouted. The hole was gone, erased as if it had never been there. Again, the feeling of helplessness filled him.

Then he saw her. He saw her face grimace in pain. He saw her fall backwards. He saw the pool of blood forming in her lap, spilling over her legs and onto the floor.

Tears burned in his eyes. "Misty!"

Everything blurred and then a bright light filled his senses. Its brightness blinded him. Its hum deafened him. The smell of burning ozone filled his phantom nose and mouth. It burned through him until he thought he would burst into flames.

Then another sound broke through the crescendo. He realized it was his own screaming. Pain, anguish, anger, desire, love, hate; all combined and flowing out of him. It struck the walls around him and shattered them, destroying them like a sapling before a firestorm.

He felt the creature cringe away from this noise. He saw it beyond the light and the walls, hovering within the darkness surrounding him. It cried out, but its sound was driven away by the power of his emotions. It fled deeper until Ash could no longer see it.

The light intensified, blinding him again. Ash thought his eyes would explode, but then it was gone.

Ash found himself in his body, only this time it was different. He had control over everything. He was free!

* * * * *

The pain was more intense than anything she had ever experienced before. _This is it, she thought for the countless time in the last hour. But this time it was different. Deep down she knew there would be no last minute savior to come and rescue her from her fate. No matter what happened next, she would die. She would die alone deep within the mountain. And then the world would follow her. She could feel her blood flowing from the wound in her stomach. __Whatever attack it used, it did its job._

She tried to focus her eyes, but they wouldn't cooperate. She was going to bleed to death never again seeing the blue sky above or the stars twinkling silently to themselves. No, she decided, she wasn't going to die like that. The Redeyes would come and finish her off before she to worry about that. At this point, she almost wished for it to hurry and end her pain.

"Misty," he heard a voice say, but it sounded like someone had filled her ears with cotton. "Misty," the voice repeated, only louder this time. It sounded like Ash, she decided. Could it be?

_It's another trick!_

_What does it matter now? she argued with the voice. __I'm dying anyway, she said with finality. The voice evidently could not argue with her and remained silent._

If it really was Ash, she had to fight back. She couldn't let herself die without seeing him one more time. She struggled to remain conscious, but if was if she was running uphill and the ground was slipping out from beneath her. Slowly, though, her senses began to refocus. Along with them the pain intensified, but she tried to ignore it.

She felt a hand run through her hair. Her vision was still too bad to make out who it was. Someone moved her hands away from here wound and they were replaced by something soft. The pressure behind it made her wince.

Finally she could make out the face before her. It _was Ash!_

"Hang on, Misty. Please, just hang on!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but she could not form the words. "Ash," she said finally.

"Misty? Thank God!"

She moved her hand over his. He was holding a blanket over her stomach that he must have found in her pack. Its white fabric was already stained red with blood. _I didn't know I had so much blood, she thought. She knew her brain was not functioning properly anyway, and knew that she didn't have much time left._

He shifted her away from the stone block so she was lying down. She felt him place the pack beneath her head in a makeshift cushion.

"Misty, why did you come here?" she heard him ask.

"To save you," she said simply.

"But," he began, his sobs unwilling to let him continue.

"I had to," she said, feeling weaker with each passing second. "I love you."

* * * * *

Ash looked down at Misty. _Please be all right, he said silently. __You have to be._

His foot kicked something and he looked down. It was the rock-like object that Misty had been holding earlier. He reached down and picked it up. It wasn't rock, he realized, but instead looked like it had come from a living creature, like ivory.

Turning to Misty he asked, "What is this?"

He saw her eyes open with fear. "Nothing," she stuttered.

He knew that wasn't the truth by the look in her eyes, but couldn't understand why should would lie. "Please don't lie to me, Misty."

She said nothing for a moment, her eyes wet with unshed tears. "It's the spike from an extinct pokémon." She coughed, a long ragged sound that tore at his heart. He saw that her lips were wet with blood, but she continued oblivious. "It's the only object that can kill the creature that took you. It can destroy it forever, but…" she trailed off.

"But…" he prompted. He had to know the rest. He felt that somehow it was a matter of life and death.

"It will kill you too. That's why I couldn't use it."

He mind was filled with questions, but they all seemed unimportant as he watched the energy slip away from Misty. She coughed again, but this time she went it a fit, each time the force of her coughing sent spasms throughout her body. Ash had trouble keeping the blanket over her wound. Finally, the fit passed.

"Are you free now?" she asked.

"I don't know. I think so," he answered. Since waking this last time, he had not felt the creature's presence at all. Perhaps he had destroyed it.

She looked up at him and smiled. "That's good. At least you got a second chance at life. I only wish I could live it with you."

"Don't talk like that!"

Her eyes cleared and he saw her focus on him. "You look so beautiful," she said, her voice sounding stronger than before. "I love you."

"You're going to be ok. You hear me?" he almost shouted. "You've got to be ok! I love you!"

Misty nodded, never breaking eye contact with him. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Don't leave me," he said in a strangled sob.

She smiled again. "So bright…" she whispered.

He felt her chest rise and fall, but it didn't rise again. Her eyes remained open, but they no longer saw. Her hand went limp and fell slowly to the floor.

At first Ash was too shocked to do anything. "Misty," he whispered, gently shaking her. "Misty?" He reached around and hugged her, bringing her up to him. "Misty! Please don't go! I need you."

_She can't be gone. She can't. But he knew she was._

He shifted around until his back was against the block. He held Misty against his shoulder and cried. _How had this happened? Why did we have to go through this? What did Misty ever to do to deserve this to happen to her?_

"You were the most important person to me," he said out loud. "You know that right? We could have moved back to Pallet and opened up the gym. We would have run it together and we would have been happy. We could have had children of our own, and one day they would have started their own journeys. And if they were lucky, they would have found friends like you along the way."

He continued to talk to her, even though she could no longer hear him. What else could he do? Did anyone even know where they were? Did it even matter? Why should he go on now? What use was there? He didn't want to. He just wanted to stay here with Misty.

Finally he lost control and shouted, his voice echoing around the stone chamber. He screamed hoping the whole world could hear him. "Why?!" he yelled. 

The world did not answer. The echoes of his voice faded away and he was once again surround by silence. Then he heard it, softly at first, but then louder. Laughter. Cruel and merciless laughter. Only it was coming from inside his mind. He knew its source instantly.

"_Well, well, well. It seems that you are now ready to accept me back. If you apologize, I might even spare some of your loved ones."_

Ash could feel it regaining its grasp over his mind. Where it had hidden, he didn't know. Slowly, but persistently, it was gaining its former strength. 

_There's no hope, now, he thought sadly. __I can't resist it anymore. He felt so tired. He knew it was only a matter of moments before everything was like it had been. He found himself not caring anymore. But then he remembered what had happened in Pewter. He knew that it wanted to turn the whole world into a series of Pewter Cities._

No! He couldn't—he wouldn't—allow that. _Misty would want me to fight it. Pain flared through him as he felt it reclaiming his body. His senses once again started to fade. Blindly, he searched the stone floor around him for the spike with his right hand. He hand bumped against its base. He wrapped his fingers around it and raised it upward. He brought his left hand over his right, with the point directed downward._

The room was beginning to turn red. He felt more than heard the creature shout when it saw what he was doing. He looked down at Misty, her head still resting on his side. _I love you. __You did what you had to Misty. Now I have to do the same. If it wasn't for you I would never have broken free from this demon. You gave me the chance to fight back and for that, I'll never be able to repay you. Then he did what she couldn't do. He brought the spike downward, feeling it bite into his chest. There was a momentary pain, but soon that, and everything else, began to fade away._

His arms felt very heavy, but he pulled Misty close and hugged her. _I'll be with you soon, I hope._

The room grew dark, but then a bright light filled his vision. It was brighter and purer than anything he had ever experienced. He felt it wash over him, but unlike before than was no burning sensation. Instead it felt as if he had been lowered into a cool bath. A face appeared before him. Her milky features blended in with the light that surrounded her like a halo, but he couldn't mistake her flaming red hair.

_So bright… so beautiful…_Strangely, he felt as if he was going home. And so he was. Feeling the last of the world slip away, he followed the light home.

* * * * *

This couldn't be happening! The pain! It hadn't felt pain since its first battle with the pokémon gods. How had this mere human done this to it?

It felt the life of his host quickly fading away, but there was no helping that now. It's rage boiled. The world would rue this day. It would make sure of that. The world had not seen the last of it. It couldn't be defeated so easily. It had bided its time before and it would again. It still was strong and it wouldn't be long before the world bowed down to its will. And when that happened there would be no mercy.

Everything began to shrink. It was time to leave, but it found that it couldn't. Its link was gone! How could that be? The link between the living and the dead had survived for countless millennia. What had the boy done?

Then it realized why the girl had been so confident. She _had_ known that she could defeat it. Not just destroy it, but defeat in a way that it would never return. She may not have been the one to strike, but she had provided the weapon.

It felt the boy shudder once more and die. The boundaries of its reality were quickly folding in upon themselves. _This wasn't the end,_ it tried to shout. It continued to scream as everything shrank and faded, finally reduced a point of light residing in a mind that was no longer there. Finally this too was gone.

And thus died the creature known to pokémon as the "one without a name" and to humans as the Redeyes.

(to be concluded…)


	7. Chapter 7

_It is over. The Redeyes has been vanquished for what I can only is for the final time. The world has been saved. People go about their lives around the globe, and tonight they will go sleep. Tomorrow they shall awake and continue their lives. And two children are dead._

_Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower found themselves swept up into events beyond their imagination or control. Yet together they were able to overcome these difficulties and accomplish the task that fate had forced upon them._

_Everything continues today because those two sacrificed their lives to save a world that will never know of their actions. I could tell the world, and they would most likely be praised as heroes, they themselves becoming legends. But, in my final act of cowardice, I have decided not to tell the world how close it came to destruction._

_I tell myself that I do this because people don't want to know how close they are death. People sometimes don't realize the true price of the future. Sometimes it is very high indeed. Ash and Misty paid in full willingly, even though they both had been deceived by me._

_I wonder if someone else had come across the ancient set of words written down into stone millennia before he or she had been born, would they have done different? I did what I thought was best. I did what I thought was needed._

_But in doing so, I betrayed two people very close to me. I keep telling myself I never told Ash beforehand because I didn't want him to have to make such a decision himself. In my own arrogance, I guess, I made sure all the evil was mine and mine alone. Why should a 16-year-old boy with everything to live for be asked to give up his life for the sake of the world? Do the lives of many really outweigh a single life?_

_I know Ash would have said yes. I know that with all my heart. That is why I betrayed him. So he wouldn't have to choose. I made the same decision with Misty. Why should she have been forced to give up on the one she loved when she still believed there was a chance? She almost convinced me that the prophecy was wrong. For a moment I had hope again. I can never thank her enough for that._

_As this journal is my final confession, I cannot leave anything out. When the prophecy of the Redeyes was first excavated, I was the first to translate it. As soon as I read it, I knew that it was Ash and Misty that it referred to. The first seventeen lines told of the Redeyes' return and its attempt to reclaim the world. It also told of how the flower would try and save the master, in the process saving the world._

_A master will be born,_

_The youngest to wear the crown._

_Upon the coronation,_

_The Redeyes will be awakened_

_To reclaim the world it lost._

_It will take the master,_

_And its reign will begin anew._

_The sky will rain upon the world,_

_And human and pokémon alike will fall._

_Forests will burn_

_Seas will boil,_

_And the world will end._

_However, amidst the horrors,_

_A flower of water will bloom,_

_Wielding the thorn,_

_That will extinguish the redeyes,_

_And free the world from its fate._

_No one else knew, however, that there were six other lines. I didn't even tell Marshall or the others. Again, I was trying to save them from as much sin as possible. Unlike the beginning, these lines told of what would happen during the final confrontation. Misty had asked me how I was so sure that she was the flower. How could I tell her that the clues lay in these hidden lines?_

_The flower will be severed,_

_But her death will awaken the master._

_He will take the thorn from his lover's grasp,_

_And destroy the Redeyes forever._

_The light will return to the world,_

_The price of the future paid in blood._

_I do not know what I will do now, but I know I can no longer stay here. The damage I have caused to those close to me will never be healed. One day I may be able to make amends for my sins, but I do not know how._

Samuel looked up from his writings. There was only one person to whom he could give this. He knew he was running away, but how could he face anyone? Maybe one day he would return. _But for now, I must begin a new journey. Where I will go and who I will meet, I don't know._

He stood up, and replaced the chair neatly against the desk. Picking up the journal, he turned out the desk light and left the room.

* * * * *

Pallet's cemetery was on the edge of town. A traveler could walk through the center of town and never see it. Pallet was not a large town, but people had been living in the area for a very a long time. The cemetery itself had been use for over 300 years.

It still surprised Brock had large it really was. Beginning in a natural meadow, it now stretched over 12 acres. Rows upon rows of headstones followed the natural contours of the land, rising and falling live waves on the ocean. Several trees remained, but for the most part, it was completely open ground.

Silently, Brock walked down a small dirt path as it meandered its way through the cemetery. Passing over a small knoll, he reached his destination.

The double headstone was ornately carved and its white stone was noticeably newer than its neighbors'. Two sets of epitaphs were carved onto its face. One read,_ Ash Ketchum, 2013-2029, Pokémon Master, Best Friend and Beloved Son. _The other read, _Misty Waterflower, 2012-2029, Gym Leader, Loving Sister and Wonderful Friend._ Underneath, written across the length of the monument were the words, _They found each other in this life, may their love guide them in the next._

Several bouquets of flowers had been laid in front of it. _You guys touched so many people, you know that right?_ Brock said silently.

"Hey guys," Brock said softly, barely above a whisper. Three weeks ago he would never had believed that today he would be visiting his two best friends here. So many things had happened since the day Ash had become Pokémon Master, everything before it felt like a different world, a world that no longer existed.

"I brought a friend to see you," he said." He turned around. "Come on, Pikachu."

Slowly, the yellow pokémon that had been following him through the cemetery hopped up to him. It looked up at him nervously.

"It's ok, Pikachu. Just go talk to them."

It looked back and forth between the gravestone and him before finally hopping over to it. "Pika pikapi. Pikachu, pika pika. Chu pika pikachupi."

Brock watched as it talked to its two friend that were no longer around to talk back. He had never been able to understand Pikachu like Ash could or even Misty for that matter, but at that moment, he was almost glad he couldn't. Whatever it was saying was between it and Ash and Misty.

Frankly, Pikachu was lucky to be alive. The doctors had all but given up hope. For the last three weeks it had been in intensive care at the Viridian City Emergency Pokémon Center. Somehow, though, Pikachu had pulled through anyway. At first, he had been afraid that the news of Ash and Misty's death would have sent it into a relapse, but slowly Pikachu was getting through its grief. It would a long and hard road ahead, but if he knew Pikachu, it could do it. Once it set its mind on something, nothing could stop it. It was a lot like Ash in that way.

Brock sighed. He doubted he would ever know for sure what really had happened to Ash and Misty. What little he did know he had had to learn from watching the news. Whatever it was that had attacked Ash, no one knew. How and why had Misty escaped from the hospital? How had she found Ash? What happened to them? Their bodies had been discovered in a cave east of Mt. Moon, but little else made any sense.

Lost in thought, Brock didn't notice Pikachu walk back to him until it tugged on his pants. He knelt down and scratched its ear. "I know its hard, Pikachu, but we'll get through together, right?" Slowly it nodded. "That's a good boy. I'll be done in a few minutes." He gave it one more scratch and then stood up.

"Sarah's getting out of the hospital the day after tomorrow," he said to the headstone. "She'll have to undergo a month or two of rehabilitation, but the doctors say she should be fine after that." Sarah, his 11-year-old sister, had been caught under a falling beam when the family gym had collapsed. Thankfully, she had been the only one in his family to be seriously hurt in the attack on Pewter. Considering how many people had lost their lives, Brock knew it was a miracle indeed that everyone in his family had survived. The gym had always provided for them and it had protected them to the end.

"We're beginning construction on the new gym next week, after Sarah gets settled. Dad says the new gym will be even bigger than before and will have a separate breeding center. Somehow I always knew I would live my life in Pewter, I just didn't know I would be going back so soon. We have a lot of rebuilding to do, but we're a strong town."

He glanced at his watch, 3:50. He was supposed to be at Mrs. Ketchum's at four and didn't want to be late. She had been understandably depressed over the last three weeks. It had gotten worse when the Professor suddenly left town the day after Ash and Misty's funeral. He hadn't given any warning and Brock hadn't found out until Tracey called him with the news. So, Brock has stepped in. For the last six years of his life Mrs. Ketchum had become the mother he himself had lost when he was young. He owed it to her and Ash that he make sure she was ok.

"I have to go," he said out loud. "I promised Ash's mom I would help her with the gardening. You should see it Ash. She's got it more beautiful than ever." He paused. "I'll be back again, don't you worry. You'll always be my best friends. I really hope you guys are doing well. If any two people deserve it, it's you."

He looked down at Pikachu. "Come on, Pikachu. We have to visit Mrs. Ketchum." The pokémon ignored him. "Come on, we'll visit them again." Again, Pikachu made no indication that it had heard him. Suddenly, it jumped forward and began to rummage through the flowers in front of the headstone.

"Pikachu, don't touch those," Brock shouted, but it continued to dig through the bouquets. Brock was about to reach and grab it out of them when Pikachu pulled out a small package that had been hidden within the flowers. Brock stopped and knelt down, gently taking the package from it.

The package wasn't very large, flat like a book, and wrapped in brown paper. Strangest of all, his name was written in black ink across the front of it. _Why would someone leave me something and hide it here?_

He delicately opened the wrapping and pulled out a small red journal. The cover was blank, but when he opened it to the front page it said, "Journal of Samuel Oak." There was also a handwritten note attached to the inside cover.

"_Brock, I left this because you deserve to know the truth of what happened to Ash and Misty and the part that I had in their deaths. What you do with the information contained in this journal is up to you. The only thing I ask is that you don't hurt Delia anymore than I already have. I cared for her dearly, just as I cared for Ash and Misty, although after reading this I doubt you will believe me. I'm sorry I left as I did, but it was the only way. I doubt I will ever see you again. Perhaps that is for the best. Please tell Tracey the deed to the laboratory has been changed over to his name. Believe me when I say I am sorry for my actions._"

Curious by the enigmatic words, Brock turned the page and began reading. Soon, all thoughts of gardening left him.

(the end.)


End file.
